i 


^^" 


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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


^PSYCHOLOGY 
AND  ACHIEVEMENT. 

Being  the  First  of  a  Series  of 

Twelve  Volumes  on  the  Applications 

of  Psychology  to  the  Problems  of 

Personal  and  Business 

Efficiency    ) 


BY 

WARREN  ^ILTON,  A.B.,  L.L.B. 

FOUNDER   OF   THE   SOCIETY    OF   APPLIED   PSYCHOLOGY 


ISSUED  UNDER  THE  AUSPICES  OF 

THE    LITERARY    DIGEST 

FOR 

NEW    YORK    AND    LONDON 
1919 


COPYRIGHT   1914 

BV  THB  APPLIED  PSYCHOLOGY  PRESS 

SAN  FRANCISCO 


Ed.  -  PsycIL 

Library 


PREFATORY  NOTE 

Lest  in  the  text  of  these  volumes 
credit  may  not  always  have  been  given 
where  credit  is  due,  grateful  acknowl- 
edgment is  here  made  to  Professor  Hugo 
MUnsterberg,  Professor  Walter  Dill 
Scott,  Dr.  James  H.  Hyslop,  Dr. 
Ernst  Haeckel,  Dr.  Frank  Channing 
Haddock,  Mr.  Frederick  W.  Taylor, 
Professor  Morton  Prince,  Professor 
F.  H.  Gerrish,  Mr.  Waldo  Pondray 
Warren,  Dr.  J.  D.  ^ackenbos.  Pro- 
fessor C.  A.  Strong,  Professor  Paul 
Dubois,  Professor  Joseph  Jastrow,  Pro- 
fessor Pierre  Janet,  Dr.  Bernard  Hart 
and  Professor  G.  M.  Whipple,  of  the 
indebtedness  to  them  incurred  in  the 
preparation  of  this  work. 


V.I 


1«i^n*^?>i 


Digitized  by  tlie  Internet  Arcliive 

in  2007  witli  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


Iittp://www.arcliive.org/details/appliedpsycliolog01sociiala 


CONTENTS 

Chapter 

I.  ATTAINMENT  OF  MIND  CONTROL  „ 

THE  MAN  OF  TOMORROW  5 
THE  DOLLARS  AND  CENTS  OF  MENTAL  WASTE  4 
THE  MEANS  TO  NOTABLE  ACHIEVEMENT  C 
A  PROCESS  FOR  "MAKING  GOOD"  6 
IxVADEQUACY  OF  BODY  TRAINING  7 
INADEQUACY  OF  BUSINESS  SPECIALIZATION  8 
FUTILITY  OF  ADVICE  IN  BUSINESS  O 
THE  WHY  AND  THE  HOW  lO 
FUNDAMENTAL  TRAINING  FOR  EFFICIENCY  I  I 
THE  VIRUS  OF  FAILURE  1  2 
PRACTICAL  FORMULAS  FOR  EVERY  DAY  I3 
YOUR  UNDISCOVERED  RESOURCES  I4 
man's  MIND  MACHINE  le 
ABJURING  MYSTICISMS  I  6 
PSYCHOLOGY,  PHYSIOLOGY  AND  RELATIONSHIPS  1  7 
ABODE  AND  INSTRUMENT  OF  MIND  1  8 
MANNER  OF  HANDLING  MENTAL  PROCESSES  I  9 
FUNDAMENTAL  LAWS  AND  PRACTICAL  METHODS  20 
SPECIAL  BUSINESS  TOPICS  21 
A  STEP  BEYOND  COLLEGIATE  PSYCHOLOGY  2  2 
THE  ETERNAL  LAWS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  ACHIEVE- 
MENT 2  X 
HOW  TO  MASTER  OUR  METHODS  34 


Contents 

Chaptet 

II.  TWO  LAWS  OF  SUCCESS -ACHIEVE- 
MENT Pa<. 

THE  ONE-lv!AN  BUSINESS  CORPORATION  29 

1-    SINESS  AND  BODILY  ACTIVITY  30 

THE  ENSLAVED  BRAIN  32 

FIRST  STEP  TOWARD  SELF-REALIZATION  33 

III.  RELATION  OF  MIND  ACTIVITY  TO 

BODILY  ACTIVITY 

SPECULATION  AND  PRACTICAL  SCIENCE  37 
PHILOSOPHIC  RIDDLES  AND  PERSONAL  EFFECT- 
IVENESS 38 
WHAT  WE  WANT  TO  KNOW  39 
SPIRITUALIST,  MATERIALIST  AND  SCIENTIST  40 
SCIENCE  OF  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT  4 1 
CAUSES  AND  "first"  CAUSES  42 
A  COMMON  PLATFORM  FOR  ALL  43 
THOUGHTS  TREATED  AS  CAUSES  44 
SCIENTIFIC  METHOD  WITH  PRACTICAL  PROBLEMS  45 
USES  OF  SCIENTIFIC  LAWS  46 

IV.  INTROSPECTIVE  EVIDENCE  OF 

MENTAL  MASTERY 

DOING  THE  THING  YOU  WANT  TO  DO  49 

SOURCE  OF  POWER  OP  WILL  5"^ 

IMPELLENT  ENERGY  OF  THOUGHT  5  I 

BODILY  EFFECTS  OF  MENTAL  STATES  52 

ILLUSTRATIVE  EXPERIMENTS  53 

SCOPE  OF  MIND  POWER  54 

BODILY  EFFECTS  OF  EMOTION  5° 


Contents 

Chapter  P»8« 

BODILY  EFFECTS  OF  PERCEPTION  57 

EXPERIMENTS  OF  PAVLOV  5^ 

TASTE  AND  DIGESTION  59 

BODILY  EFFECTS  OF  SENSATIONS  6o 

THE  FUNDAMENTAL  LAW  OF  EXPRESSION  tz  . 

V.  PHYSIOLOGICAL  EVIDENCE  OF 
MENTAL  MASTERY 

INTROSPECTIVE  KNOWLEDGE  (>'] 
DISSECTION  AND  THE  GOVERNING  CONSCIOUS- 
NESS 68 
SUBORDINATE  MENTAL  UNITS  69 
WHAT  THE  MICROSCOPE  SHOWS  "JO 
THE  LITTLE  UNIVERSE  BEYOND  7' 
THE  UNIT  OF  LIFE  7* 
CHARACTERISTICS  OF  LIVING  CELLS  74 
THE  BRAIN  OF  THE  CELL  75 
MIND  LIFE  OF  ONE  CELL  7^ 
THE  WILL  OF  THE  CELL  ^^ 
THE  CELL  AND  ORGANIC  EVOLUTION  78 
EVOLUTIONARY  DIFFERENTIATIONS  79 
PLURALITY  OF  THE  INDIVIDUAL  80 
COMBINED  CONSCIOUSNESS  OF  THE  MILLIONS  8  I 
EVOLUTION  OF  THE  HUMAN  ORGANISM  82 
THE  CROWD-MAN  83 
FUNCTIONS  OF  DIFFERENT  HUMAN  CELLS  84 
CELL  LIFE  AFTER  DEATH  86 
EXPERIMENTS  OF  DR.  ALEXIS  CARRELL  87 
MAN-FEDERATION  OF  INTELLIGENCES  88 
CREATIVE  POWER  OF  THE  CELL  89 


Contents 

Chaptei  Pa2, 
LAVING  THE  FOUNDATION  FOR  PRAC- 
TICAL DOING  (^O 
THREE  NEW  PROPOSITIONS  9 1 
AN  INSTRUMENT  FOR  MENTAL  DOMINANCE  92 
GATEWAYS  OF  EXPERIENCE  93 
COURIERS  OF  ACTION  9^ 
NERVE  SYSTEMS  95 
ORGANS  OF  CONSCIOUSNESS  AND  SUB- 
CONSCIOUSNESS 96 
LOOKING  INSIDE  THE  SKULL  99 
DRUNKENNESS  AND  BRAIN  EFFICIENCY  I02 
SECONDARY  BRAINS  I  04 
DEPENDENCE  OF  THE  SUBCONSCIOUS  I05 
UNCONSCIOUSNESS  AND  SUBCONSCIOUS- 
NESS 107 
SYNTHESIS  OF  THE  MAN-MACHINB  1 09 
SUBSERVIENCY  OF  THE  BODY  III 

VI.  THE  SUPREMACY  OF 
CONSCIOUSNESS 

STRIKING  OFF  THE  MENTAL  SHACKLES  I  I  5 

THE  AWAKENING  OF  ENLIGHTENMENT  I  I  8 

THE  VITAL  PURPOSE  I  1 9 

YOUR  RESERVOIR  OP  LATENT  POWER  I  20 


ATTAINMENT  OF  MIND 
CONTROL 


Chapter  I 

ATTAINMENT  OF  MIND 

CONTROL 

HE  MEN  of  the  nineteenth  The  Man  of 

Tomorrow 

century  have  harnessed  the 
forces  of  the  outer  world. 
The  age  is  now  at  hand 
that  shall  harness  the  energies  of  mind, 
new-found  in  the  psychological  labora- 
tory, and  shall  put  them  at  the  service 
of  humanity. 

Are  you  fully  equipped  to  take  a 
valiant  part  in  the  work  of  the  coming 
years? 

The  greatest  of  all  eras  is  at  hand  I 
Are  you  increasing  your  fitness  to  ap- 


A  Applied  Psychology 

The  Dollars  predate  it  and  take  part  in  it,  or  are 

and  Cents  '^  ^  ' 

of  Mental  you  merely  passing  your  time  away? 

Take  careful  note  for  a  week  of  the 
incidents  of  your  daily  life  —  your 
methods  of  work,  habits  of  thought, 
modes  of  recreation.  You  will  discover 
an  appalling  waste  in  your  present  ran- 
dom methods  of  operation. 

How  many  foot-pounds  of  energy  do 
you  suppose  you  annually  dump  into 
the  scrap-heap  of  wasted  effort?  What 
does  this  mean  to  you  in  dollars  and 
cents?  In  conscious  usefulness?  In 
peace  and  happiness? 

Individual  mental  efficiency  is  an 
absolute  prerequisite  to  any  notable 
personal  achievement  or  any  great  in- 
dividual success.  Your  mental  energies 
arc  the  forces  with  which  you  must 


^ 


Psychology  a7td Achievement      r 
wage  your  battles  in  this  world.    Are    ^^'^  ^^^°-^ 

°     •'  -fo  Notable 

you  prepared   to   direct   and   deploy  Achievement 
these  forces  with  masterful  control  and 
strategic  skill?    Are  you  prepared  to 
use  all  your  reserves  of  mental  energy 
in  the  crises  of  your  career? 

A  Mighty  and  Intelligent  Power 
resides  within  you.  Its  marvelous 
resources  are  just  now  coming  to  be 
recognized. 

Recent  scientific  research  has  re- 
vealed, beyond  the  world  of  the  senses 
and  beyond  the  domain  of  conscious- 
ness, a  wide  and  hitherto  hidden  realm 
of  human  energies  and  resources. 

These  are  mental  energies  and  re- 
sources. They  are  phases  of  the  mind, 
not  of  the  "mind"  of  fifty  years  ago, 
but  of  a  "mind"  of  whose  operations 


6  Applied  Psychology 

A  Process  for  you  are  unconscious  and  whose  mar- 
Gooi"  velous  breadth  and  depth  and  power 
have  but  recently  been  revealed  to  the 
world  by  scientific  experiment. 

In  this  Basic  Course  of  Reading  we 
shall  lay  before  you  in  simp,le  and 
clear-cut  but  scientific  form  the  proof 
that  you  have  at  your  command  mental 
powers  of  which  you  have  never  before 
dreamed. 

And  we  shall  give  you  such  specific 
directions  for  the  use  of  these  new- 
found powers,  that  whatever  your 
environment,  whatever  your  business, 
whatever  your  ambition,  you  need  but 
follow  our  plain  and  simple  instruc- 
tions in  order  to  do  the  thing  you  want 
to  do,  to  be  the  man  you  want  to  be,  or 
to  get  the  thing  you  want  to  have. 


Psychology  and  Achievement      n 
If  you  have  any  thought  that  the  con-   ,    , 

■^  JO  Inadequacy 

trol  of  your  hidden  mental  energies  is  to  of  Body 

Training 

be  acquired  by  mere  hygienic  measures, 
put  it  from  you.  The  idea  that  you 
may  come  into  the  fulness  of  your 
powers  through  mere  wholesome  liv- 
ing, outdoor  sports  and  bodily  exercise 
is  an  idea  that  belongs  to  an  age  that  is 
past.  Good  health  is  not  necessary  to 
achievement.  It  is  not  even  a  positive 
influence  for  achievement.  It  is  merely 
a  negative  blessing.  With  good  health 
you  may  hope  to  reach  your  highest 
mental  and  spiritual  development  free 
from  the  harassment  of  soul-racking 
pain.  But  without  good  health  men 
have  reached  the  summit  of  Parnassus 
and  have  dragged  their  tortured  bodies 
up  behind  them. 


8  Applied  Psychology 

Inadequacy     Nor  docs  succcss  ncccssarily  follow 

slld^i^ation  ^^  require  long  preparation  in  a  par- 
ticular field.  The  first  occupation  of 
the  successful  man  is  rarely  the  one  in 
which  he  achieves  his  ultimate  tri- 
umph. In  the  changing  conditions  of 
our  day,  one  needs  a  better  weapon 
than  the  mere  knowledge  of  a  particu- 
lar trade,  vocation  or  profession.  He 
needs  that  mastery  of  himself  and 
others  that  is  the  fundamental  secret  of 
success  in  all  fields  of  endeavor. 

It  is  well  to  tell  you  beforehand  that 
in  this  Basic  Course  of  Reading  we 

'■'■^-  shall  be  content  with  no  mere  catalogu- 

ing of  the  factors  that  are  commonly  re- 
garded as  essential  to  success.  We  shall 
do  no  moralizing.  You  will  find  here 
no  elaboration  of  the  ancient  aphor- 


Psychology  and  Achievement      g 

isms,  "  Honesty  is  the  best  policy,"  and  ^«/'f''3'  of 
"  Genius  is  the  infinite  capacity  for  tak-  Business 
ing  pains." 

The  world  has  had  its  fill  of  mere 
exhortations  to  industry,  frugality  and 
perseverance.  For  some  thousands  of 
years  men  have  preached  to  the  lazy 
man,  "Be  industrious,"  and  to  the  timid 
man,  "Be  bold."  But  such  phrases 
never  have  solved  and  never  can  solve 
the  problem  for  the  man  who  feels 
himself  lacking  in  both  industry  and 
courage. 

It  is  easy  enough  to  tell  the  salesman 
that  he  must  approach  his  "prospect" 
with  tact  and  confidence.  But  tact  and 
confidence  are  not  qualities  that  can  be 
assumed  and  discarded  like  a  Sunday 
coat.    Industry  and  courage  and  tact 


I  o  Applied  Psychology 

^^and^the  ^^^  Confidence  are  well  enough,  but  we 
How  must  know  the  Why  and  the  How  of 
these  things. 

It  is  well  enough  to  preach  that  the 
secret  of  achievement  is  to  be  found  in 
"courage-faith"  and  "courage-confi- 
dence," and  that  the  way  to  acquire 
these  qualities  is  to  assume  that  you 
have  them.  There  is  no  denying  the  un- 
doubted fact  that  men  and  women  have 
been  rescued  from  the  deepest  mire  of 
poverty  and  despair  and  lifted  to  planes 
of  happy  abundance  by  what  is  known 
as  "  faith."  But  what  is  "  faith  "  ?  And 
"faith"  in  What?  And  Why?  And 
How? 

Obviously  we  cannot  achieve  certain 
and  definite  results  in  this  or  any  other 
field  so  long  as  we  continue  to  deal  with 


Psychology  and  Achie'uement       \  \ 

materials  we  do  not  understand.    Yet  pundamentai 
that  is  what  all  men  are  doing  today.   Training  for 

EMaency 

The  elements  of  truth  are  befogged  in 
vague  and  amateurish  mysticism,  and 
the  subject  of  individual  efficiency 
when  we  get  beyond  mere  preaching 
and  moralizing  is  a  chaos  of  isms. 

The  time  is  ripe  for  a  real  analysis  of 
these  important  problems, — a  serious 
and  scientific  analysis  with  a  clear  and 
practical  exposition  of  facts  and  prin- 
ciples and  rules  for  conduct. 

Men  and  women  must  be  fundament- 
ally trained  so  that  they  can  look  deep 
into  their  own  minds  and  see  where  the 
screw  is  loose,  where  oil  is  needed,  and 
so  readjust  themselves  and  their  living 
for  a  greater  efficiency. 

The  embittered,  the  superstitious,  the 


1 2  Applied  Psychology 

The  Virus  prejudiced,  all  those  who  scorpion-like 
sting  themselves  with  the  virus  of  fail- 
ure, must  be  given  an  antidote  of 
understanding  that  will  repair  their 
deranged  mental  machinery. 

The  conscientious  but  foolish  busi- 
ness man  who  is  worrying  himself  into 
failure  and  an  early  grave  must  be 
taught  the  physiological  effects  of  ideas 
and  given  a  new  standard  of  values. 

The  profligate  must  be  lured  from 
his  emotional  excesses  and  debauch- 
eries, not  by  moralizings,  but  by  show- 
ing him  just  how  these  things  fritter  his 
energies  and  retard  his  progress. 

It  must  be  made  plain  to  the  success- 
ful promoter,  to  the  rich  banker,  how  a 
man  may  be  a  financial  success  and  yet 
a  miserable  failure  so  far  as  true  happi- 


Psychology  and  Achievement       \  n 
ness  is  concerned,  and  how  by  scientific  Practical 

Formulas 

self-development  he  can  acquire  great-  for 

er  riches  within  than  all  his  vaults  of    ^^^^    °''^ 

steel  will  hold. 

This  Basic  Course  of  Reading  offers 
just  such  an  analysis  and  exposition  of 
fundamental  principles.  It  furnishes 
definite  and  scientific  answers  to  the 
problems  of  life.  It  will  reveal  to  you 
unused  or  unintelligently  used  mental 
forces  vastly  greater  than  those  now  at 
your  command. 

We  go  even  further,  and  say  that  this 
Basic  Course  of  Reading  provides  a 
practicable  formula  for  the  everyday 
use  of  these  vast  resources.  It  will  en- 
able you  to  acquire  the  magical  quali- 
ties and  still  more  magical  effects  that 
spell  success   and  happiness,  without 


I  A  Applied  Psychology 

ndiscovfrZ  Straining  your  will  to  the  breaking 
Resources  point  and  making  life  a  burden.  It  will 
give  you  a  definite  prescription  like  the 
physician^s,  "Take  one  before  meals," 
and  as  easily  compounded,  which  will 
enable  you  to  be  prosperous  and  happy. 
In  the  development  of  one's  innate 
resources,  such  as  powers  of  observa- 
tion, imagination,  correct  judgment, 
alertness,  resourcefulness,  application, 
concentration,  and  the  faculty  of  taking 
prompt  advantage  of  opportunities,  the 
study  of  the  mental  machine  is  bound 
to  be  the  first  step.  It  must  be  the 
ultimate  resource  for  self-training  in 
efficiency  for  the  promoter  with  his 
appeal  to  the  cupidity  and  imagina- 
tions of  men  as  surely  as  for  the  artist 
in  his  search  for  poetic  inspiration. 


Psychology  and  Achievement      \  r 

No  man  can  get  the  best  results  from 
any  machine  unless  he  understands  its 
mechanism.  We  shall  draw  aside  the 
curtain  and  show  you  the  mind  in  oper- 
ation. 

The  mastery  of  your  own  powers  is 
worth  more  to  you  than  all  the  knowl- 
edge of  outside  facts  you  can  crowd 
into  your  head.  Read  and  study  and 
practice  the  teachings  of  this  Basic 
Course,  and  they  will  make  you  in  a 
new  sense  the  master  of  yourself  and 
of  your  future. 

In  this  Basic  Course  of  Reading  we 
shall  begin  by  giving  you  a  thorough 
understanding  of  certain  mental  opera- 
tions and  processes. 

We  shall  lead  your  interest  away 
from  "vague  mysticisms"  and  empha- 


Man's  Mind 
Machine 


1 5  Applied  Psychology 

Abjunng  gizc  such  phascs  of  scientific  psycho- 

MysHcisms 

logical  theory  as  bear  directly  on  prac- 
tical achievement. 

We  shall  give  you  a  practical  work- 
ing knowledge  of  concentrative  mental 
methods  and  devices.  We  shall  clear 
away  the  mysteries  and  misapprehen- 
sions that  now  envelop  this  particular 
field. 

In  the  present  volume  we  shall  begin 
with  a  discussion  of  certain  aspects  of 
the  relation  between  the  mind  and  the 
body. 

However  we  look  at  it,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  understand  the  mind  without 
some  knowledge  of  the  bodily  machine 
through  which  the  mind  works.  The 
investigation  of  the  mind  and  its  condi- 
tions and  problems  is  primarily  the 


Psychology  and  Achievement      \  n 

business  of  psychology,  which  seeks  to  Psychology, 
describe  and  explain  them.    It  would  ^^l^°  °^^ 
seem  to  be  entirely  distinct  from  physi-  Relationships 
ology,  which  seeks  to  classify  and  ex- 
plain the  facts  of  bodily  structure  and 
operation.    But   all   sciences   overlap 
more  or  less.   And  this  is  particularly 
true  of  psychology,  which  deals  with 
the  mind,  and  physiology,  which  deals 
with  the  body. 

It  is  the  mind  that  we  are  primarily 
interested  in.  But  every  individual 
mind  resides  within,  or  at  least  ex- 
presses itself  through,  a  body.  Upon 
the  preservation  of  that  body  and  upon 
the  orderly  performance  of  its  func- 
tions depend  our  health  and  comfort, 
our  very  lives. 

Then,  too,  considered  merely  as  part 


1 3  Applied  Psychology 

Abode  and  ^^  the  outside  world  of  matter,  man's 
Itutrument  bodv  is  the  phvsical  fact  with  which  he 

of  Mind,        J       ^         ^    ^  ^ 

IS  most  m  contact  and  most  immediately 
concerned.  It  furnishes  him  with  infor- 
mation concerning  the  existence  and 
operations  of  other  minds.  It  is  in  fact 
his  only  source  of  information  about 
the  outside  world. 

First  of  all,  then,  you  must  form 
definite  and  intelligent  conclusions 
concerning  the  relations  between  the 
mind  and  the  body. 

This  will  be  of  value  in  a  number  of 
ways.  In  the  first  place,  you  will  un- 
derstand the  bodily  mechanism  through 
which  the  mind  operates,  and  a  knowl- 
edge of  this  mechanism  is  bound  to  en- 
lighten you  as  to  the  character  of  the 
mental  processes   themselves.    In   the 


Psychology  and  Achievement      \  g 
second  place,  it  is  worth  while  to  know   '^^"^.^  ^^ 

*  '  Handling 

the  extent  of  the  mind's  influence  over  Mental 
the  body,  because  this  knowledge  is  the 
first  step  toward  obtaining  bodily  ef- 
ficiency through  the  mental  control  of 
bodily  functions.  And,  finally,  a  study 
of  this  bodily  mechanism  is  of  very 
great  practical  importance  in  itself,  for 
the  body  is  the  instrument  through 
which  the  mind  acts  in  its  relations  with 
the  world  at  large. 

From  a  study  of  the  bodily  machine, 
we  shall  advance  to  a  consideration  of 
the  mental  processes  themselves,  not 
after  the  usual  manner  of  works  on 
psychology,  but  solely  from  the  stand- 
point of  practical  utility  and  for  the 
establishment  of  a  scientific  concept  of 
the  mind  capable  of  everyday  use. 


20  Applied  Psychology 

fundamental      The  elucidation  of  every  principle  of 

Laws  and 

Practical  mental  Operation  will  be  accompanied 
ethods  jjy  illustrative  material  pointing  out 
just  how  that  particular  law  may  be 
employed  for  the  attainment  of  specific 
practical  ends.  There  will  be  numer- 
ous illustrative  instances  and  methods 
that  can  be  at  once  made  use  of  by  the 
merchant,  the  musician,  the  salesman, 
the  advertiser,  the  employer  of  labor, 
the  business  executive. 

In  this  way  this  Basic  Course  of 
Reading  will  lay  a  firm  and  broad 
foundation,  first,  for  an  understanding 
of  the  methods  and  devices  whereby 
any  man  may  acquire  full  control  and 
direction  of  his  mental  energies  and 
may  develop  his  resources  to  the  last 
degree;  second,  for  an  understanding 


Psychology  and  Achievement      2 1 
of  the  psychological  methods  for  sue-    special 

.-.  e       '         \  •       Business 

cess  in  any  specific  professional  pursuit  Topics 
in  which  he  may  be  particularly  inter- 
ested; and  third,  for  an  understanding 
of  the  methods  of  applying  psychologi- 
cal knowledge  to  the  industrial  prob- 
lems of  office,  store  and  factory. 

The  first  of  these — that  is  to  say,  in- 
struction in  methods  for  the  attainment 
of  any  goal  consistent  with  native  abil- 
ity— will  follow  right  along  as  part  of 
this  Basic  Course  of  Reading.  The  sec- 
ond and  third — that  is  to  say,  the  study 
of  special  commercial  and  industrial 
topics  —  are  made  the  subject  of  special 
courses  supplemental  to  this  Basic 
Course  and  for  which  it  can  serve  only 
as  an  introduction. 

In  this  Basic  Course  of  Reading  we 


22  Applied  Psychology 

A  step  ^^^^^  show  you  how  you  may  acquire 
Beyond  perfcct  individual  efficiency.  And,  most 
Psychology  remarkable  of  all,  we  shall  show  you 
how  you  may  acquire  it  without  that 
effort  to  obtain  it,  that  straining  of  the 
will,  that  struggling  with  wasteful  in- 
clinations and  desires,  that  is  itself  the 
essence  of  inefficiency. 

The  facts  and  principles  set  forth  in 
this  Basic  Course  are  new  and  wonder- 
ful and  inspiring.  They  have  been 
established  and  attested  by  world-wide 
and  exhaustive  scientific  research  and 
experiment. 

You  may  be  a  college  graduate.  You 
may  have  had  the  advantage  of  a  col- 
lege course  in  psychology.  But  you 
have  probably  had  no  instruction  in  the 
practical   application  of  your  knowl- 


Psychology  and  Achievement 

edge  of  mental  operations.  So  far  as  we 
are  aware,  there  are  few  universities  in 
the  world  that  embrace  in  their  curric- 
ula a  course  in  "applied"  psychology. 
For  the  average  college  man  this  Basic 
Course  of  Reading  will  be,  therefore, 
in  the  nature  of  a  post-graduate  course, 
teaching  him  how  to  make  practical 
use  of  the  psychology  he  learned  at  col- 
lege, and  in  addition  giving  him  facts 
about  the  mind  unknown  to  the  college 
psychology  of  a  few  years  ago. 

In  these  books  you  will  probe  deeply 
into  the  normal  human  mind. 

You  will  see  also  the  fantastic  and 
distorted  shape  of  its  manifestations  in 
disease. 

You  will  learn  the  Eternal  Laws  of 
Individual  Achievement. 


^3 


The  Eternal 
^aws  of 
Indizndual 
Achievement 


2  A.  Applied  Psychology 

How  to     ^^^  yQ^j  ^111  |jg  taught  how  to  apply 
Our  Methods  thtm  to  your  own  business  or  profes- 
sion. 

But  mark  this  word  of  warning.  To 
comprehend  the  teachings  of  this  Basic 
Course  well  enough  to  put  them  into 
practice  demands  from  you  careful 
study  and  reflection.  It  requires  per- 
sistent application.  Do  not  attempt  to 
browse  through  the  pages  that  follow. 
They  are  worth  all  the  time  that  you 
can  put  upon  them. 

The  mind  is  a  complex  mechanism. 
Each  element  is  alone  a  fitting  subject 
for  a  lifetime's  study.  Do  not  lose  sight 
of  the  whole  in  the  study  of  the  parts. 

All  the  books  bear  upon  a  central 
theme.  They  will  lead  you  on  step  by 
step.    Gradually  your  conception  of 


Psychology  and  Achievement      2  C 

your  relations  to  the  world  will  change.  How  to 
A  new  realization  of  power  will  come  our Methods 
upon  you.  You  will  learn  that  you  are 
in  a  new  sense  the  master  of  your  fate. 
You  will  find  these  books,  like  the  petals 
of  a  flower,  unfolding  one  by  one  until 
a  great  and  vital  truth  stands  revealed 
in  full-blown  beauty. 

To  derive  full  benefit  from  the 
Course  it  is  necessary  that  you  should 
do  more  than  merely  understand  each 
sentence  as  you  go  along.  You  must 
grasp  the  underlying  train  of  thought. 
You  must  perceive  the  continuity  of  the 
argument. 

It  is  necessary,  therefore,  that  you  do 
but  a  limited  amount  of  reading  each 
day,  taking  ample  time  to  reflect  on 
what  you  have  read.  If  any  book  is  not 


26  Applied  Psychology 

How  to         entirely  clear  to  you  at  first,  go  over  it 
Ow-  '^Methods  ^g^in.  Persistence  will  enable  any  man 
to  acquire  a  thorough  comprehension 
of  our  teachings  and  a  profound  mas- 
tery of  our  methods. 


TWO  LAWS  OF 
SUCCESS-ACHIEVEMENT 


Chapter  II 

TWO  LAWS  OF 
SUCCESS-ACHIEVEMENT 

S  A  working  unit  you  are  a  kind  The  One-Man 


of  one-man  business  cor-^"''!"^-'-'^. 

C  orporatton 


A'' 

/    ^        poration  made  up  of  two 

A  WL  departments,  the  mental 
and  the  physical. 

Your  mind  is  the  executive  office  of 
this  personal  corporation,  its  directing 
"  head."  Your  body  is  the  corporation's 
"  plant."  Eyes  and  ears,  sight  and  smell 
and  touch,  hands  and  feet — these  are 
the  implements,  the  equipment. 

We  have  undertaken  to  teach  you 
how  to  acquire  a  perfect  mastery  of 


29 


n  Q  Applied  Psychology 

Business    youT  own  powcrs  and  meet  the  practi- 
Bodiiy    cal  problems  of  your  life  in  such  a  way 
Activity    ^i^jj  success  will  be  swift  and  certain. 

First  of  all  it  is  necessary  that  you 
should  accept  and  believe  two  well- 
settled  and  fundamental  laws. 

I.  All  human  achievement  comes 
about  through  bodily  activity. 

II.  All  bodily  activity  is  caused,  con- 
'trolled  and  directed  by  the  mind. 

Give  the  first  of  these  propositions 
but  a  moment's  thought.  You  can  con- 
ceive of  no  form  of  accomplishment 
which  is  not  the  result  of  some  kind  of 
bodily  activity.  One  would  say  that  the 
master  works  of  poetry,  art,  philoso- 
phy, religion,  are  products  of  human 


Psychology  and  Achievement      n  I 

effort  furthest  removed  from  the  ma-  Business 
terial  side  of  life,  yet  even  these  v^ould  ^^odn 
have  perished  still-born  in  the  minds  Activity 
conceiving  them  had  they  not  found 
transmission   and   expression   through 
some  form  of  bodily  activity.  You  will 
agree,  therefore,  that  the  first  of  these 
propositions  is  so  self-evident,  so  axio- 
matic, as  neither  to  require  nor  to  ad- 
mit of  formal  proof. 

The  second  proposition  is  not  so 
easily  disposed  of.  It  is  in  fact  so  diffi- 
cult of  acceptance  by  some  persons  that 
we  must  make  very  plain  its  absolute 
validity.  Furthermore,  its  elucidation 
will  bring  forth  many  illuminating 
facts  that  will  give  you  an  entirely  new 
conception  of  the  mind  and  its  scope 
and  influence. 


n  2  Applied  Psychology 

Remember,  when  we  say  "  mind,"  we 
are  not  thinking  of  the  brain.  The 
brain  is  but  one  of  the  organs  of  the 
body,  and,  by  the  terms  of  our  proposi- 
tion as  stated,  is  as  much  the  slave  of  the 
mind  as  is  any  other  organ  of  the  body. 
To  say  that  the  mind  controls  the  body 
presupposes  that  mind  and  body  are 
distinct  entities,  the  one  belonging  to 
a  spiritual  world,  the  other  to  a  world 
of  matter. 

That  the  mind  is  master  of  the  body 
is  a  settled  principle  of  science.  But  we 
realize  that  its  acceptance  may  require 
you  to  lay  aside  some  preconceived  pre- 
judices. You  may  be  one  of  those  who 
believe  that  the  mind  is  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  brain  activity.  You  may 
believe  that  the  body  is  all  there  is  to 


Psychology  and  Achievement      ^  ^ 
man  and  that  mind-action  is  merely  one    First  step 

.  .       f  .  Toward  Self- 

of  Its  functions.  Realization 

If  so,  we  want  you  nevertheless  to 
realize  that,  while  as  a  matter  of  phil- 
osophic speculation  you  retain  these 
opinions,  you  may  at  the  same  time  for 
practical  purposes  regard  the  mind  as 
an  independent  causal  agency  and  be- 
lieve that  it  can  and  does  control  and 
determine  and  cause  any  and  every  kind 
of  bodily  activity.  We  want  you  to  do 
this  because  this  conclusion  is  at  the 
basis  of  a  practical  system  of  mental 
efficiency  and  because,  as  we  shall  at 
once  show  you,  it  is  capable  of  proof 
by  the  established  methods  of  physical 
science. 


RELATION  OF  MIND 

ACTIVITY  TO  BODILY 

ACTIVITY 


Chapter  III 

RELATION  OF  MIND 

ACTIVITY  TO  BODILY 

ACTIVITY 

POINT  OF  VIEW  FROM  WHICH  YOU  MUST 
APPROACH  THIS  PROBLEM 

THE  FACT  is,  one's  opinion 
as  to  whether  mind  con- 
trols body  or  body  makes 
mind-action  depends  alto- 
gether upon  the  point  of  view.  And  the 
first  step  for  us  to  take  is  to  agree  upon 
the  point  of  view  we  shall  assume. 

Two  points  of  view  are  possible.  One 
is  speculative,  the  other  practical. 
The  speculative  point  of  view  is  that 


Speculation 
and 

Practical 
Science 


37 


1 8  Applied  Psychology 

Philosophic  of  the  philosophcr  and  religionist,  who 

%''^^^;;;j ponder  the  tie  that  binds  "soul"  and 

Effectiveness  body  in  an  effort  to  solve  the  riddle  of 

"creation"  and  pierce  the  mystery  of 

the  "  hereafter." 

The  practical  point  of  view  is  that  of 
the  modern  practical  scientist,  who 
deals  only  with  actual  facts  of  human 
experience  and  seeks  only  immediate 
practical  results. 

The  speculative  problem  is  the  his- 
torical and  religious  one  of  the  mor- 
tality or  immortality  of  the  soul.  The 
practical  problem  is  the  scientific  one 
that  demands  to  know  what  the  mental 
forces  are  and  how  they  can  be  used 
most  effectively. 

There  is  no  especial  need  here  to 
trace    the    historical    development   of 


Psychology  and  Achievement 

these  two  problems  or  enter  upon  a  dis- 
cussion of  religious  or  philosophical 
questions. 

Our  immediate  interest  in  the  mind 
and  its  relationship  to  the  body  is  not 
because  we  want  to  be  assured  of  the 
salvation  of  our  souls  after  death. 

We  want  to  know  all  we  can  about 
the  reality  and  certainty  and  character 
of  mental  control  of  bodily  functions 
because  of  the  practical  use  we  can 
make  of  such  knowledge  in  this  life, 
here  and  now. 

The  practical  scientist  has  nothing  in 
common  with  either  spiritualists,  soul- 
believers,  on  the  one  hand,  or  material- 
ists on  the  other.  So  far  as  the  mortality 
of  the  soul  is  concerned,  he  may  be 
either  a  spiritualist  or  a  materialist. 


39 


What  We 
Want  to 
Know 


AQ  Applied  Psychology 

spintuahst   g^^.  spiritualism  or  materialism  is  to 

Materialist  ^ 

and  Scientist  him  Only  an  intellectual  pastime.  It  is 
not  his  trade.  In  his  actual  work  he 
seeks  only  practical  results,  and  so  con- 
fines himself  wholly  to  the  actual  facts 
of  human  experience. 

The  practical  scientist  knows  that  as 
between  two  given  facts,  and  only  as 
between  these  two,  one  may  be  the 
"cause"  of  the  other.  But  he  is  not 
interested  in  the  "creative  origin"  of 
material  things.  He  does  not  attempt 
to  discover  "  first"  causes. 

The  practical  scientist  ascribes  all 
sorts  of  qualities  to  electricity  and  lays 
down  many  laws  concerning  it  without 
having  the  remotest  idea  as  to  what,  in 
the  last  analysis,  electricity  may  actu- 
ally be.  He  is  not  concerned  with  ulti- 


Psychology  and  Achievement      a\ 

mate  truths.    He  does  his  work,  and  sdence  of 
necessarily  so,  upon  the  principle  that  E^elt  ° 
for  all  practical  purposes  he  is  justified 
in  using  any  given   assumption   as  a 
working  hypothesis  if  everything  hap- 
pens just  as  if  it  were  true. 

The  practical  scientist  applies  the 
term  "cause"  to  any  object  or  event  that 
is  the  invariable  predecessor  of  some 
other  object  or  event. 

For  him  a  "cause"  is  simply  any  ob- 
ject or  event  that  may  be  looked  upon 
as  forecasting  the  action  of  some  other 
object  or  the  occurrence  of  some  other 
event. 

The  point  with  him  is  simply  this, 
Does  or  does  not  this  object  or  this  event 
in  any  way  affect  that  object  or  that 
event  or  determine  its  behavior? 


Az  Applied  Psychology 

Causes  No  matter  where  you  look  you  will 
'Firsf  Causes  ^^^  ^^^^  every  fact  in  Nature  is  rela- 
tively cause  and  effect  according  to  the 
point  of  view.  Thus,  if  a  railroad  en- 
gine backs  into  a  train  of  cars  it  trans- 
mits a  certain  amount  of  motion  to  the 
first  car.  This  imparted  motion  is  again 
passed  on  to  the  next  car,  and  so  on. 
The  motion  of  the  first  car  is,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  effect  of  the  impact  of  the 
engine,  and  is,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
"cause"  of  the  motion  of  the  second 
car.  And,  in  general,  what  is  an  "ef- 
fect" in  the  first  car  becomes  a  "cause" 
when  looked  at  in  relation  to  the  sec- 
ond, and  what  is  an  "  effect"  in  the  sec- 
ond becomes  a  "cause"  in  relation  to 
the  third.  So  that  even  the  materialist 
will  agree  that  "cause"  and  "effect" 


Psychology  and  Achievement      An 

are  relative  terms  in  dealing  with  any     A  Common 
series  of  facts  in  Nature.  for  Mt^ 

A  man  may  be  either  a  spiritualist, 
believing  that  the  mind  is  a  manifesta- 
tion of  the  super-soul,  or  he  may  be  a 
materialist,  and  in  either  case  he  may  at 
the  same  time  and  with  perfect  con- 
sistency believe,  as  a  practical  scientist, 
that  the  mind  is  a  "cause"  and  has 
bodily  action  as  its  "  effect." 

Naturally  this  point  of  view  offers  no 
difficulties  whatever  to  the  spiritualist. 
He  already  looks  upon  the  mind  or  soul 
as  the  "originating  cause"  of  every- 
thing. 

But  the  materialist,  too,  may  in  ac- 
cordance with  his  speculative  theory 
continue  to  insist  that  brain-action  is 
the  "originating  cause"  of  mental  life; 


A  A  Applied  Psychology 

Thoughts  yet  if  the  facts  show  that  certain 
as  Causes  thoughts  are  invariably  followed  by 
certain  bodily  activities,  the  material- 
ist may  without  violence  to  his  theories 
agree  to  the  great  practical  value  of 
treating  these  thoughts  as  immediate 
causes,  no  matter  what  the  history  of 
creation  may  have  been. 

Whatever  the  brand  of  your  materi- 
alism or  your  religious  belief,  you  can 
join  us  in  accepting  this  practical- 
science  point  of  view  as  a  common 
platform  upon  which  to  approach  our 
second  fundamental  proposition,  that 
*'  all  bodily  activity  is  caused,  controlled 
or  directed  by  the  mind." 

Ignoring  all  religious  and  meta- 
physical questions,  we  have,  then,  to 
ask  ourselves  merely: 


Psychology  and  Achievement      a  r 

Can  the  mind  he  relied  upon  to  bring    SdentWc 
about  or  stop  or  in  any  manner  influ-      f.l  ° 
ence  bodily  action?  And  if  it  can,  what   Practical 

'      If     '    n  o  Problems 

ts  the  extent  of  the  mind  s  influence  ? 

In  answering  these  questions  we  shall 
follow  the  method  of  the  practical 
scientist,  whose  method  is  invariably 
the  same  whatever  the  problem  he  is 
investigating. 

This  method  involves  two  steps :  first, 
the  collection  and  classification  of  facts; 
second,  the  deduction  from  those  facts 
of  general  principles. 

The  scientist  first  gathers  together 
the  greatest  possible  array  of  experi- 
ential facts  and  classifies  these  facts 
into  sequences — that  is  to  say,  he  gathers 
together  as  many  instances  as  he  can 
find  in  which  one  given  fact  follows 


J. 6  Applied  Psychology 

Uses  of     directly  upon  the  happening  of  another 

Scientific  .  -. 

Laws     given  fact. 

Having  done  this,  he  next  formulates 
in  broad  general  terms  the  common 
principle  that  he  finds  embodied  in 
these  many  similar  sequences. 

Such  a  formula,  if  there  are  facts 
enough  to  establish  it,  is  what  is  known 
as  a  scientific  law.  Its  value  to  the 
world  lies  in  this,  that  whenever  the 
given  fact  shall  again  occur  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  scientific  law  will  enable  us 
to  predict  with  certainty  just  what 
events  will  follow  the  occurrence  of 
that  fact. 

First,  then,  let  us  marshal  our  facts 
tending  to  prove  that  bodily  activities 
are  caused  by  the  mind. 


INTROSPECTIVE  > 

EVIDENCE  OF  MENTAL 
MASTERY 


Chapter  IV 

INTROSPECTIVE 

EVIDENCE  OF  MENTAL 

MASTERY 


HE    FIRST     and    most    con-  Doing  the 

Thing  You 


voluntary    bodily    action; 

that  is  to  say,  bodily  action 
resulting  from  the  exercise  of  the  con- 
scious will. 

If  you  will  a  bodily  movement  and 
that  movement  immediately  follows, 
you  are  certainly  justified  in  conclud- 
ing that  your  mind  has  caused  the 
bodily  movement.  Every  conscious, 
voluntary  movement  that  you  make, 


49 


r  o  Applied  Psychology 

Source  of  and  you  are  makihg  thousands  of  them 
^°^wm  ^very  hour,  is  a  distinct  example  of 
mind  activity  causing  bodily  action.  In 
fact,  the  very  will  to  make  any  bodily 
movement  is  itself  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  a  mental  state. 

The  will  to  do  a  thing  is  simply  the 
belief,  the  conviction,  that  the  appro- 
priate bodily  movement  is  about  to 
occur.  The  whole  scientific  world  is 
agreed  on  this. 

For  example,  in  order  to  bend  your 
forefinger  do  you  first  think  it  over, 
then  deliberately  put  forth  some  special 
form  of  energ}^?  Not  at  all:  The  very 
thought  of  bending  the  finger,  if  un- 
hindered by  conflicting  ideas,  is  enough 
to  bend  it. 

Note  this  general  law:   The  idea  of 


Psychology  and  Achievement      r  j 
any  bodily  action  tends  to  produce  the    Impellent 

Energy  of 

action.  Thought 

This  conception  of  thought  as  im- 
pellent—  that  is  to  say,  as  impelling 
bodily  activity — is  of  absolutely  fun- 
damental importance.  The  following 
simple  experiments  will  illustrate  its 
working. 

Ask  a  number  of  persons  to  think  suc- 
cessively of  the  letters  "  B,"  "  O,"  and 
"Q."  They  are  not  to  pronounce  the 
letters,  but  simply  to  think  hard  about 
the  sound  of  each  letter. 

Now,  as  they  think  of  these  letters, 
one  after  the  other,  watch  closely  and 
you  will  see  their  lips  move  in  readiness 
to  pronounce  them.  There  may  be  some 
whose  lip-movements  you  will  be  un- 
able to  detect.  If  so,  it  will  be  because 


r  2  Applied  Psychology 

Bodily  your  cyc  IS  oot  quick  enough  or  keen 

Effects  of  .  -   ,,  , 

Mental  cnough  to  follow  them  in  every  case. 

States  Have  a  friend  blindfold  you  and 
then  stand  behind  you  vs^ith  his  hands 
on  your  shoulders.  While  in  this  posi- 
tion ask  him  to  concentrate  his  mind 
upon  some  object  in  another  part  of  the 
house.  Yield  yourself  to  the  slightest 
pressure  of  his  hands  or  arms  and  you 
will  soon  come  to  the  object  of  w^hich 
he  has  been  thinking.  If  he  is  un- 
familiar with  the  impelling  energy  of 
thought,  he  will  charge  the  result  to 
mind-reading. 

The  same  law  is  illustrated  by  a 
familiar  catch.  Ask  a  friend  to  define 
the  word  "  spiral."  He  will  find  it  dif- 
ficult to  express  the  meaning  in  words. 
And  nine   persons  out  of  ten  while 


Psychology  and  Achievement      r  ^ 

groping  for  appropriate  words  will  un-    ju^^tratwe 
consciously  describe  a  spiral  in  the  air    Experiments 
with  the  forefinger. 

Swing  a  locket  in  front  of  you,  hold- 
ing the  end  of  the  chain  with  both 
hands.  You  will  soon  see  that  it  will 
swing  in  harmony  with  your  thoughts. 
If  you  think  of  a  circle,  it  will  swing 
around  in  a  circle.  If  you  think  of  the 
movement  of  a  pendulum,  the  locket 
will  swing  back  and  forth. 

These  experiments  not  only  illustrate 
the  impelling  energy  of  thought  and  its 
power  to  induce  bodily  action,  but  they 
indicate  also  that  the  bodily  effects  of 
mental  action  are  not  limited  to  bodily 
movements  that  are  conscious  and  vol- 
untary. 

The    fact    is,    every    mental    state. 


r^.  Applied  Psychology 

Scope  of       ivhether  you  consider  it  as  involving 

Mind  Power  ''  ,  .  * 

an  act  of  the  will  or  not,  ts  followed  by 

some  kind  of  bodily  effect,  and  every 
bodily  action  is  preceded  by  some  dis- 
tinct kind  of  mental  activity.  From  the 
practical  science  point  of  view  every 
thought  causes  its  particular  bodily 
effects. 

This  is  true  of  simple  sensations.  It 
is  true  of  impulses,  ideas  and  emotions. 
It  is  true  of  pleasures  and  pains.  It  is 
true  of  conscious  mental  activity.  It  is 
true  of  unconscious  mental  activity.  It 
is  true  of  the  whole  range  of  mental 
life. 

Since  the  mental  conditions  that  pro- 
duce bodily  effects  are  not  limited  to 
those  mental  conditions  in  which  there 
is  a  conscious  exercise  of  the  will,  it 


Psychology  and  Achievement      q  ;j 

follows  that  the  bodily  effects  produced        scope  of, 
by   mental  action   are   not  limited  to  ^^^^ Power 
movements  of  what  are  known  as  the 
voluntary  muscles. 

On  the  contrary,  they  include 
changes  and  movements  in  all  of  the 
so-called  involuntary  muscles,  and  in 
every  kind  of  bodily  structure.  They 
include  changes  and  movements  in 
every  part  of  the  physical  organism,, 
from  changes  in  the  action  of  heart, 
lungs,  stomach,  liver  and  other  viscera, 
to  changes  in  the  secretions  of  glands 
and  in  the  caliber  of  the  tiniest  blood- 
vessels. A  fev^  instances  such  as  are 
familiar  to  the  introspective  experience 
of  everyone  will  illustrate  the  scope  of 
the  mind's  control  over  the  body. 

Emotion  always  causes  numerous  and 


r  5  Applied  Psychology 

Bodily  Effects  intense  bodily  effects.    Furious  anger 

of  Emotion  .  -  •      i. 

may  cause  frowning  brows,  grinding 
teeth,  contracted  jaws,  clenched  fists, 
panting  breath,  growling  cries,  bright 
redness  of  the  face  or  sudden  paleness. 
None  of  these  effects  is  voluntary;  we 
may  not  even  be  conscious  of  them. 

Fright  may  produce  a  wild  beating 
of  the  heart,  a  death-like  pallor,  a 
gasping  motion  of  the  lips,  an  uncover- 
ing or  protruding  of  the  eye-balls,  a 
sudden  rigidity  of  the  body  as  if 
*'  rooted  "  to  the  spot. 

Grief  may  cause  profuse  secretion  of 
tears,  swollen,  reddened  face,  red  eyes 
and  other  familiar  symptoms. 

Shame  may  cause  that  sudden  dila- 
tion of  the  capillary  blood-vessels  of  the 
face  known  as  "  blushing." 


Psychology  and  Achievement      r  n 
The    sight   of   others   laughing   or  Bodily  Effects 

,  of  Perception 

yawning  makes  us  laugh  or  yawn.  The 
sound  of  one  man  coughing  will  be- 
come epidemic  in  an  audience.  The 
thought  of  a  sizzling  porter-house  steak 
with  mushrooms,  baked  potatoes  and 
rich  gravy  makes  the  mouth  of  a  hun- 
gry man  "  water." 

Suppose  I  show  you  a  lemon  cut  in 
half  and  tell  you  with  a  wry  face  and 
puckered  mouth  that  I  am  going  to 
suck  the  juice  of  this  exceedingly  sour 
lemon.  As  you  merely  read  these  lines 
you  may  observe  that  the  glands  in  your 
mouth  have  begun  to  secrete  saliva. 
There  is  a  story  of  a  man  who  wagered 
with  a  friend  that  he  could  stop  a  band 
that  was  playing  in  front  of  his  ofRce. 
He  got  three  lemons  and  gave  half  of  a 


t-  8  Applied  Psychology 

Experiments  ignion  to  cach  of  a  number  of  street 

of  Pavlov 

urchins.  He  then  had  these  boys  walk 
round  and  round  the  band,  sucking  the 
lemons  and  making  puckered  faces  at 
the  musicians.  That  soon  ended  the 
music. 

A  distinguished  German  scientist, 
named  Pavlov,  has  recently  demonstrat- 
ed in  a  series  of  experiments  with  dogs 
that  the  sight  of  the  plate  that  ordina- 
rily beers  their  food,  or  the  sight  of  the 
chair  upon  which  the  plate  ordinarily 
stands,  or  even  the  sight  of  the  person 
who  commonly  brings  the  plate,  may 
cause  the  saliva  to  flow  from  their  sali- 
vary glands  just  as  effectively  as  the 
food  itself  would  do  if  placed  in  their 
mouths. 

There  was  a  time,  and  that  not  long 


Psychology  and  Achievement       r  g 

ago,  when  the  contact  of  food  with  the  Taste  and 
lining  of  the  stomach  was  supposed  to  ^^sest%9n 
be  the  immediate  cause  of  the  secretion 
of  the  digestive  fluids.  Yet  recent  ob- 
servation of  the  interior  of  the  stomach 
through  an  incision  in  the  body,  has 
shown  that  just  as  soon  as  the  food  is 
tasted  in  the  mouth,  a  purely  mental 
process,  the  stomach  begins  to  well 
forth  those  fluids  that  are  suitable  for 
digestion. 

The  press  recently  contained  an  ac- 
count of  a  motorcycle  race  in  Newark, 
New  Jersey.  The  scene  was  a  great 
bowl  -  shaped  motor  -  drome.  In  the 
midst  of  cheering  thousands,  when  rid- 
ing at  the  blinding  speed  of  ninety-two 
miles  an  hour,  the  motorcycle  of  one  of 
the  contestants  went  wrong.  It  climbed 


6o  Applied  Psychology 

Bodily  Effects  the  twcnty-eight-foot  incline,  hurled  its 

0f  Sensations     .  ,  .  ,        ,  ,  ,      ,   . 

rider  to  instant  death  and  crashed  into 
the  packed  grandstand.  Before  the 
whirling  mass  of  steel  was  halted  by  a 
deep-set  iron  pillar  four  men  lay  dead 
and  twenty-two  others  unconscious  and 
severely  injured.  Then  the  twisted  en- 
gine of  death  rebounded  from  the  post 
and  rolled  down  the  saucer-rim  of  the 
track. 

Around  the  circular  path,  his  speed 
scarcely  less  than  that  of  his  ill-fated 
rival,  knowing  nothing  of  the  tragedy, 
hearing  nothing  of  the  screams  of 
warning  from  the  crowd,  came  another 
racer.  The  frightened  throng  saw  the 
coming  of  a  second  tragedy.  The  sound 
that  came  from  the  crowd  was  a  low 
moaning,  a  sighing,  impotent,  uncon- 


Psychology  and  Achievement      6 1 

scious  prayer  of  the  thousands  for  the  Bodily  Effects 

mercy  that  could  not  come.  The  second  "    ^^'^ 

motorcycle  struck  the  wreck,   leaped 

into  the  air,  and  the  body  of  its  rider 

shot  fifty  feet  over  the  handlebars  and 

fell  at  the  bottom  of  the  track  uncon-. 

scious.  Two  hours  later  he  was  dead. 

What  was  the  effect  of  this  dreadful 
spectacle  upon  the  onlookers?  Confu- 
sion, cries  of  fright  and  panic,  while 
throughout  the  grandstand  women 
fainted  and  lay  here  and  there  uncon- 
scious. Many  were  afflicted  with 
nausea.  With  others  the  muscles  of 
speech  contracted  convulsively,  knees 
gave  way,  hearts  "stopped  beating." 
Observe  that  these  were  wholly  the 
effects  of  mental  action,  effects  of  sight 
and  sound  sensations. 


^2  Applied  Psychology 

TheFund(p-        \yhy  multiply  instances?    All  that 

mental  Law 

/>f  Expression  you  need  to  do  to  be  satisfied  that  the 
mind  is  directly  responsible  for  any  and 
every  kind  of  bodily  activity  is  to  ex- 
amine your  own  experiences  and  those 
of  your  friends.  They  will  afford  you 
innumerable  illustrations. 

You  will  find  that  not  only  is  your 
body  constantly  doing  things  because 
your  mind  wills  that  it  should  do  them, 
but  that  your  body  is  incessantly  doing 
things  simply  because  they  are  the  ex- 
pression of  a  passing  thought. 

The  law  that  Every  idea  tends  to 
express  itself  in  some  form  of  bodily 
activity,  is  one  of  the  most  obviously 
demonstrable  principles  of  human  life. 

Bear  in  mind  that  this  is  but  another 
way  of  expressing  the  second  of  our 


\ 


Psychology  and  Achievement      (y  n 

first   two    fundamental   principles   of  ^^^  Funda- 
mental Law 
mental  efficiency,  and  that  we  are  en-  of  Expression 

gaged  in  a  scientific  demonstration  of 
its  truth  so  that  you  will  not  confuse  it 
with  mere  theory  or  speculation. 

To  recall  these  fundamental  prin- 
ciples to  your  mind  and  further  impress 
them  upon  you,  we  will  restate  them : 

I.  All  human  achievement  comes 
about  through  some  form  of  bodily  ac- 
tivity. 

II.  All  bodily  activity  is  caused,  con- 
trolled and  directed  by  the  mind. 


PHYSIOLOGICAL 

EVIDENCE  OF  MENTAL 

MASTERY 


Chapter  V 


PHYSIOLOGICAL 

EVIDENCE  OF  MENTAL 

MASTERY 


E  HAVE  been  considering  introspective 

Knowledge 

the  relationship  between 


TTT 

^Ll  ^Ll        mind    and   body   from 
f       ▼  the   standpoint   of   the 

mind.  Our  investigation  has  been  large- 
ly introspective ;  that  is  to  say,  we  simply 
looked  within  ourselves  and  considered 
the  effects  of  our  mental  operations  upon 
our  own  bodies.  The  facts  we  had 
before  us  were  facts  of  which  we  had 
direct  knowledge.  We  did  not  have  to 
go  out  and  seek  them  in  the  mental  and 


67 


58  Applied  Psychology 

DissecHon    bodily  activities  of  other  persons.  We 
Governing    found  them  here  within  ourselves,  in- 
CoHsctousness    Cerent  in  our  consciousness.  To  observe 
them  we  had  merely  to  turn  the  spot- 
light into  the  hidden  channels  of  our 
own  minds. 

We  come  now  to  examine  the  mind's 
influence  upon  the  body  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  body.  To  do  this  we  must 
go  forth  and  investigate.  We  must  use 
eye,  ear  and  hand.  We  must  use  the 
forceps  and  scalpel  and  microscope  of 
the  anatomist  and  physiologist. 

But  it  is  well  worth  while  that  we 
should  do  this.  For  our  investigation 
will  show  a  bodily  structure  peculiarly 
adapted  to  control  by  a  governing  con- 
sciousness. It  will  reveal  to  the  eye  a 
physical  mechanism   peculiarly   fitted 


Psychology  and  Achievement      5o 

for  the  dissemination  of  intelligence  Subordinate 
throughout  the  body.  And,  most  of  all,  Units 
it  will  disclose  the  existence  within  the 
body  of  subordinate  mental  units,  each 
capable  of  receiving,  understanding 
and  acting  upon  the  intelligence  thus 
submitted.  And  we  shall  have  strongly 
corroborative  evidence  of  the  mind's 
complete  control  over  every  function  of 
the  body. 

Examine  a  green  plant  and  you  will 
observe  that  it  is  composed  of  numer- 
ous parts,  each  of  which  ha?  some 
special  function  to  perform.  The  roots 
absorb  food  and  drink  from  the  soil. 
The  leaves  breathe  in  carbonic  acid 
from  the  air  and  transform  it  into  the 
living  substance  of  the  plant.  Every 
plant   has,    therefore,    an    anatomical 


nQ  applied  Psychology 

What  the  stHicture,  its  parts  and  tissues  visible  to 

Microscope  ^^  ^^^^^ 
Shows  "^ 

Put  one  of  these  tissues  under  a  mi- 
croscope and  you  will  find  that  it  con- 
sists of  a  honeycomb  of  small  compart- 
merits  or  units.  These  compartments 
are  called  "  cells,"  and  the  structure  of 
all  plant  tissues  is  described  as  "  cellu- 
lar." Wherever  you  may  look  in  any 
plant,  you  w^ill  find  these  cells  making 
up  its  tissues.  The  activity  of  any  part 
or  tissue  of  the  plant,  and  consequently 
all  of  the  activities  of  the  plant  as  a 
v^hole,  are  but  the  combined  and 
co-operating  activities  of  the  various 
individual  cells  of  w^hich  the  tissues  are 
composed.  The  living  cell,  therefore,  is 
at  the  basis  of  all  plant  life. 

In  the  same  way,  if  you  turn  to  the 


Psychology  and  Achievement      y  \ 
structure  of  any  animal,  you  will  find  ^^^  "^*"^^ 

.     .  Universe 

that  It  IS  composed  of  parts  or  organs  Beyond 
made  up  of  different  kinds  of  tissues, 
and  these  tissues  examined  under  a  mi- 
croscope will  disclose  a  cellular  struc- 
ture similar  to  that  exhibited  by  the 

plant. 

Look  where  you  will  among  living 

things,  plant  or  animal,  you  will  find 
that  all  are  mere  assemblages  of  cellu- 
lar tissues. 

Extend  your  investigation  further, 
and  examine  into  forms  of  life  so  mi- 
nute that  they  can  be  seen  only  with  the 
most  powerful  microscope  and  you  will 
come  upon  a  whole  universe  of  tiny 
creatures  consisting  of  a  single  cell. 

Indeed,  it  is  a  demonstrable  fact  that 
these  tiny  units  of  life  consisting  of  but 


n'x  Applied  Psychology 

The  Unit  a  singlc  ccll  are  far  more  numerous 
than  the  forms  of  life  visible  to  the 
naked  eye.  You  will  have  some  idea  of 
their  size  and  number  when  we  tell  you 
that  millions  may  live  and  die  and  re- 
produce their  kind  in  a  single  thimble- 
ful of  earth. 

Every  plant,  then,  or  every  animal, 
whatever  its  species,  however  simple  or 
complicated  its  structure,  is  in  the  last 
analysis  either  a  single  cell  or  a  confed- 
erated .group  of  cells. 

All  life,  whether  it  be  the  life  of  a 
single  cell  or  of  an  unorganized  group 
of  cells  or  of  a  republic  of  cells,  has  as 
its  basis  the  life  of  the  cell. 

For  all  the  animate  world,  two  great 
principles  stand  established.  First,  that 
every  living  organism,  plant  or  animal. 


Psychology  and  Achievement      j  o 

big  or  little,  develops  from  a  cell,  and  is 
itself  a  composite  of  cells,  and  that  the 
cell  is  the  unit  of  all  life.  Secondly, 
that  the  big  and  complex  organisms 
have  through  long  ages  developed  out 
of  simpler  forms,  the  organic  life  of 
today  being  the  result  of  an  age-long 
process  of  evolution. 

What,  then,  is  the  cell,  and  vs^hat  part 
has  it  played  in  this  process  of  evolu- 
tion? 

To  begin  v^ith,  a  cell  is  visible  only 
through  a  microscope.  A  human  blood 
cell  is  about  one-three-thousandth  of  an 
inch  across,  v^hile  a  bacterial  cell  may 
be  no  more  than  one-tvi^enty-fivc-thou- 
sandth  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 

Yet,  small  as  it  is,  the  cell  exhibits  all 
of  the  customary  phenomena  of  inde- 


The  Unit 
of  Life 


74  Applied  Psychology 

c/iaracf^r- pendent  life;  that  is  to  say,  it  nourishes 

uJngCeiu  itself,  it  grows,  it  reproduces  its  kind,  it 

moves  about,  and  it  feels.  It  is  a  living, 

breathing,    feeling,    moving,    feeding 

thing. 

The  term  "cell"  suggests  a  walled-in 
enclosure.  This  is  because  it  was  orig- 
inally supposed  that  a  confining  wall  or 
membrane  was  an  invariable  and  essen- 
tial characteristic  of  cell  structure.  It 
is  now  known,  however,  that  while  such 
a  membrane  may  exist,  as  it  does  in 
most  plant  cells,  it  may  be  lacking,  as 
is  the  case  in  most  animal  cells. 

The  only  absolutely  essential  parts  of 
the  cell  are  the  inner  nucleus  or  kernel 
and  the  tiny  mass  of  living  jelly  sur- 
rounding it,  called  the  protoplasm. 

The  most  powerful  microscopes  dis- 


Psychology  and  Achievement      j  q 

close  in  this  protoplasm  a  certain  def-^^'  ^^°*^  °^ 
inite  structure,  a  very  fine,  thread-like 
network  spreading  from  the  nucleus 
throughout  the  semi-fluid  albuminous 
protoplasm.  It  is  certainly  in  line  with 
the  broad  analogies  of  life,  to  suppose 
that  in  each  cell  the  nucleus  with  its 
network  is  the  brain  and  nervous  sys- 
tem of  that  individual  cell. 

All  living  organisms  consist,  then, 
simply  of  cells.  Those  consisting  of  but 
one  cell  are  termed  unicellular;  those 
comprising  more  than  one  cell  are 
called  pluricellular. 

The  unicellular  organism  is  the  unit 
of  life  on  this  earth.  Yet  tiny  and  ul- 
timate as  it  is,  every  unicellular  organ- 
ism is  possessed  of  an  independent  and 
"  free  living  "  existence. 


y5  Applied  Psychology 

Mind  Life      Xo  be  Convinced  of  this  fact,  just 

of  Om  Cell  '    ^ 

consider  for  a  moment  the  scope  of  de- 
velopment and  range  of  activities  of 
one  of  these  tiny  bodies. 

"We  see,  then,"  says  Haeckel,  "that 
it  performs  all  the  essential  life  func- 
tions which  the  entire  organism  ac- 
complishes. Every  one  of  these  little 
beings  grows  and  feeds  itself  independ- 
ently. It  assimilates  juices  from  with- 
out, absorbing  them  from  the  surround- 
ing fluid.  Each  separate  cell  is  also  able 
to  reproduce  itself  and  to  increase. 
This  increase  generally  takes  place  by 
simple  division,  the  nucleus  parting 
first,  by  a  contraction  round  its  circum- 
ference, into  two  parts;  after  which  the 
protoplasm  likewise  separates  into  two 
divisions.    The  single  cell  is  able  to 


Psychology  and  Achievement      nj 

move  and  creep  about;  from  its  outer  The  wuiof 
surface  it  sends  out  and  draws  back  ^  ^  ^ 
again  finger-like  processes,  thereby 
modifying  its  form.  Finally,  the  young 
cell  has  feeling,  and  is  more  or  less  sen- 
sitive. It  performs  certain  movements 
on  the  application  of  chemical  and  me- 
chanical irritants." 

The  single  living  cell  moves  about 
in  search  of  food.  When  food  is  found 
it  is  enveloped  in  the  mass  of  proto- 
plasm, digested  and  assimilated. 

The  single  cell  has  the  power  of 
choice,  for  it  refuses  to  eat  what  is  un- 
wholesome and  extends  itself  mightily 
to  reach  that  which  is  nourishing. 

Moebius  and  Gates  are  convinced 
that  the  single  cell  possesses  memory, 
for  having  once  encountered  anything 


n  8  Applied  Psychology 

The  Cell  and  dangcrous,  it  knows  enough  to  avoid  it 
EvoZn  when  presented  under  similar  circum- 
stances. And  having  once  found  food 
in  a  certain  place,  it  will  afterwards 
make  a  business  of  looking  for  it  in  the 
same  place. 

And,  finally,  Verworn  and  Binet 
have  found  in  a  single  living  cell  mani- 
festations of  the  emotions  of  surprise 
and  fear  and  the  rudiments  of  an  abil- 
ity to  adapt  means  to  an  end. 

Let  us  now  consider  pluricellular  or- 
ganisms and  consider  them  particular- 
ly from  the  standpoint  of  organic  evo- 
lution. The  pluricellular  organism  is 
nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  later  de- 
velopment, a  confederated  association 
of  unicellular  organisms.  Mark  the  de- 
velopment of  such  an  association. 


Psychology  and  Achievement      yg 

Originally  each  separate  cell  per-  Evolutionary 
formed  all  the  functions  of  a  separate  ^1^^^^"  "*" 
life.  The  bonds  that  united  it  to  its  fel- 
lows were  of  the  most  transient  char- 
acter. Gradually  the  necessities  of  en- 
vironment led  to  a  more  and  more 
permanent  grouping,  until  at  last  the 
bonds  of  union  became  indissoluble. 

Meanwhile,  the  great  laws  of  "  adap- 
tation "  and  "  heredity,"  the  basic  prin- 
ciples of  evolution,  have  been  steadily 
at  work,  and  slowly  there  has  come 
about  a  differentiation  of  cell  function, 
an  apportionment  among  the  different 
cells  of  the  different  kinds  of  labor. 

As  the  result  of  such  differentiation, 
the  pluricellular  organism,  as  it  comes 
ultimately  to  be  evolved,  is  composed  of 
many  different  kinds  of  cells.  Each  has 


8o  Applied  Psychology 

Plurality  its  Special  function.  Each  has  its  field 
Individual  ^^  labor.  Each  lives  its  own  individual 
life.  Each  reproduces  its  own  kind. 
Yet  all  are  bound  together  as  elements 
of  the  same  "  cell  society  "  or  organized 
"  cell  state." 

Among  pluricellular  organisms  man 
is  of  course  supreme.  He  is  the  one 
form  of  animal  life  that  is  most  highly 
differentiated. 

Knowing  what  you  now  know  of  mi- 
croscopic anatomy,  you  cannot  hold  to 
the  simple  idea  that  the  human  body  is 
a  single  life-unit.  This  is  the  naive 
belief  that  is  everywhere  current  among 
men  today.  Inquire  among  your  own 
friends  and  acquaintances  and  you  will 
find  that  not  one  in  a  thousand  realizes 
that  he  is,  to  put  it  jocularly,  singularly 


Millions 


Psychology  and  Achievement      g  j 
plural,  that  he  is  in  fact  an  assemblage  Combined 

Consciousness 

of  individuals.  of  the 

Not  only  is  the  living  human  body  as 
a  whole  alive,  but  "  every  part  of  it  as 
large  as  a  pin-point  is  alive,  with  a 
separate  and  independent  life  all  its 
own;  every  part  of  the  brain,  lungs, 
heart,  muscles,  fat  and  skin."  No  man 
ever  has  or  ever  can  count  the  number 
of  these  parts  or  cells,  some  of  which  are 
so  minute  that  it  would  take  thousands 
in  a  row  to  reach  an  inch. 

"  Feeling"  or  "consciousness "  is  the 
sum  total  of  the  feelings  and  conscious- 
ness of  millions  of  cells,  just  as  an  or- 
chestral harmony  is  a  composite  of  the 
sounds  of  all  the  individual  instru- 
ments. 

In  the  ancient  dawn  of  evolution,  all 


82  Applied  Psychology 

Evolution  of     the  cells  of  the  human  body  were  of  the 

the  Hutnan  i  •      i      -r*        tvt  •  < 

Organism  Same  kmd.  But  JNature  is  everywhere 
working  out  problems  of  economy  and 
efficiency.  And,  to  meet  the  necessities 
of  environment,  there  has  gradually 
come  about  a  parceling  out  among  the 
different  cells  of  the  various  tasks  that 
all  had  been  previously  called  upon  to 
perform  for  the  support  of  the  human 
institution. 

This  differentiation  in  kinds  of  work 
has  gradually  brought  about  corre- 
sponding and  appropriate  changes  of 
structure  in  the  cells  themselves,  where- 
by each  has  become  better  fitted  to  per- 
form its  part  in  the  sustenance  and 
growth  of  the  body. 

When  you  come  to  think  that  these 
processes  of  adaptation  and  heredity  in 


Psychology  and  Achievement      8 1 

the  human  body  have  been  going  on  The 
for  countless  millions  of  years,  you  can 
readily  understand  how  it  is  that  the 
human  body  of  today  is  made  up  of 
more  than  thirty  different  kinds  of  cells, 
each  having  its  special  function. 

We  have  muscle  cells,  w^ith  long, 
thin  bodies  like  pea-pods,  who  devote 
their  lives  to  the  business  of  contrac- 
tion; thin,  hair-like  connective  tissue 
cells,  whose  office  is  to  form  a  tough 
tissue  for  binding  the  parts  of  the  body 
together;  bone  cells,  a  trades-union  of 
masons,  whose  life  work  it  is  to  select 
and  assimilate  salts  of  lime  for  the 
upkeep  of  the  joints  and  framework; 
hair,  skin,  and  nail  cells,  in  various 
shapes  and  sizes,  all  devoting  them- 
selves to  the  protection  and  ornamenta- 


Crowd-Man 


8  J.  Applied  Psychology 

Functions  of  tion  of  the  body;  gland  cells,  who  give 
Different        thejj-  ijves,  a  forcc  of  trained  chemists. 

Human  Cells  '  ' 

to  the  abstraction  from  the  blood  of 
those  substances  that  are  needed  for  di- 
gestion; blood  cells,  crowding  their 
way  through  the  arteries,  some  making 
regular  deliveries  of  provisions  to  the 
other  tenants,  some  soldierly  fellows 
patrolling  their  beats  to  repel  invading 
disease  germs,  some  serving  as  humble 
scavengers;  liver  cells  engaged  in  the 
menial  service  of  living  off  the  waste 
of  other  organs  and  at  the  same  time 
converting  it  into  such  fluids  as  are 
required  for  digestion;  windpipe  and 
lung  cells,  whose  heads  are  covered 
with  stiff  hairs,  which  the  cell  through- 
out its  life  waves  incessantly  to  and  fro; 
and,  lastly,  and  most  important  and  of 


Psychology  and  Achievement      8  r 
greatest  interest  to  us,  brain  and  nerve  Functions  of 

°  '  Different 

cells,  the  brain  cells  constituting  alto-  Human  Cells 
gether  the  organ  of  objective  intelli- 
gence, the  instrument  through  which 
we  are  conscious  of  the  external  world, 
and  the  nerve  cells  serving  as  a  living 
telegraph  to  relay  information,  from 
one  part  of  the  body  to  another,  with 
the  "  swiftness  of  thought." 

Says  one  writer,  referring  to  the  cells 
of  the  inner  or  true  skin :  "As  we  look 
at  them  arranged  there  like  a  row  of 
bricks,  let  us  remember  two  things: 
first,  that  this  row  is  actually  in  our 
skin  at  this  moment ;  and,  secondly,  that 
each  cell  is  a  living  being — it  is  born, 
grows,  lives,  breathes,  eats,  works,  de- 
cays and  dies.  A  gay  time  of  it  these 
youngsters  have  on  the  very  banks  of  a 


8  5  Applied  Psychology 

CtU  Ufe  stream  that  is  bringing  down  to  them 
every  minute  stores  of  fresh  air  in  the 
round,  red  corpuscles  of  the  blood,  and 
a  constant  stream  of  suitable  food  in  the 
serum.  But  it  is  not  all  pleasure,  for 
every  one  of  them  is  hard  at  w^ork." 

And  again,  speaking  of  the  cells  that 
line  the  air-tubes,  he  says:  "The  w^hole 
interior,  then,  of  the  air-tubes  resem- 
bles nothing  so  much  as  a  field  of  corn 
sw^ayed  by  the  wind  to  and  fro,  the 
principal  sweep,  however,  being  al- 
ways upwards  towards  the  throat.  All 
particles  of  dust  and  dirt  inhaled  drop 
on  this  waving  forest  of  hairs,  and  are 
gently  passed  up  and  from  one  to  an- 
other out  of  the  lungs.  When  we  re- 
member that  these  hairs  commenced 
waving  at  our  birth,  and  have  never  for 


Psychology  and  Achievement     8  7 
one  second  ceased  since,  and  will  con-  Experiments 

1  .  f  of  Dr.  Alexis 

tinue  to  wave  a  short  time  after  our  carrei 
death,  we  are  once  more  filled  with 
wonder  at  the  marvels  that  surround 
us  on  every  side." 

Remarkable  confirmatory  evidence 
of  the  fact  that  every  organ  of  the  body 
is  composed  of  individual  cell  intelli- 
gences, endowed  with  an  instinctive 
knowledge  of  how  to  perform  their 
special  functions,  is  found  in  the  experi- 
ments of  Dr.  Alexis  Carrel,  the  recip- 
ient of  the  Nobel  prize  for  science  for 
1912. 

Dr.  Carrel  has  taken  hearts,  stom- 
achs and  kidneys  out  of  living  animals, 
and  by  artificial  nourishment  has  suc- 
ceeded in  keeping  them  steadily  at 
work  digesting  foods,  and  so  on,  in  his 


8  8  Applied  Psychology 

Federai'xon^oi  ^^^^'''^iory,  for  months  after  the  death 
Intelligences  of  the  bodies  from  which  they  were 
originally  taken. 

We  see,  then,  that  every  human  body 
is  an  exceedingly  complex  association 
of  units.  It  is  a  marvelously  correlated 
and  organized  community  of  countless 
microscopic  organisms.  It  is  a  sort  of 
cell  republic,  as  to  which  we  may  truth- 
fully paraphrase :  Life  and  Union,  One 
and  Inseparable. 

Every  human  body  is  thus  made  up 
of  countless  cellular  intelligences,  each 
of  which  instinctively  utilizes  ways  and 
means  for  the  performance  of  its  spe- 
cial functions  and  the  reproduction  of 
its  kind.  These  cell  intelligences  carry 
on,  without  the  knowledge  or  volition 
of  our  central  consciousness — that  is  to 


Psychology  and  Achievement      gg 

say,  subconsciously  —  the  vital  opera-  creative 
tions  of  the  body.  ^''^'^^  °f 

^  ^  _  the  Cell 

Under  normal  conditions,  conditions 
of  health,  each  cell  does  its  work  with- 
out regard  to  the  operations  of  its 
neighbors.  But  in  the  event  of  accident 
or  disease,  it  is  called  upon  to  repair 
the  organism.  And  in  this  it  shoves  an 
energy  and  intelligence  that  "  savor  of 
creative  power."  With  what  prompt- 
ness and  vigor  the  cells  apply  them- 
selves to  heal  a  cut  or  mend  a  broken 
bone!  In  such  cases  all  that  the  physi- 
cian can  do  is  to  establish  outward  con- 
ditions that  will  favor  the  co-operative 
labors  of  these  tiny  intelligences. 

The  conclusion  to  he  drawn  from  all 
this  is  obvious.  For,  if  every  individual 
and  ultimate  part  of  the  body  is  a  mind 


Practical 
Doing 


go  Applied  Psychology 

Laying  the   organism,  it  is  very  apparent  that  the 

Foundation     ,      ,  ,     i      •  i-      i         t       .     i 

for  body  as  a  whole  ts  peculiarly  adapted 

to  control  and  direction  by  mental  in- 
fluences. 

Do  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  in 
proving  such  control  we  are  laying  the 
foundation  for  a  scientific  method  of 
achieving  practical  success  in  life,  since 
all  human  achievement  comes  about 
through  some  form  of  bodily  activity. 

We  assume  now  your  complete  ac- 
ceptance of  the  following  propositions, 
based  as  they  are  upon  facts  long  since 
discovered  and  enunciated  in  standard 
scientific  works: 

a.  The  whole  body  is  composed  of 
cells,  each  of  which  is  an  intelligent 
entity  endowed  with  mental  powers 
commensurate  with  its  needs. 


Psychology  and  Achievement      g  i 

h.  The  fact  that  every  cell  in  the   Three  New 
body  is  a  mind  cell  shows  that  the  body,    ^^'''^^-"''''^"-^ 
by  the  very  nature  of  its  component 
parts,  is  peculiarly  susceptible  to  men- 
tal influence  and  control. 

To  these  propositions  we  now  ap- 
pend the  following: 

c.  A  further  examination  of  the  body 
reveals  a  central  mental  organism,  the 
brain,  composed  of  highly  differenti- 
ated cells  whose  intelligence,  as  in  the 
case  of  other  cells,  is  commensurate 
with  their  functions. 

d.  It  reveals  also  a  physical  mechan- 
ism, the  nervous  system,  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  communication  of  intel- 
ligence between  the  central  governing 
intelligence  and  the  subordinate  cells. 

e.  The  existence  of  this  mind  organ- 


02,  Applied  Psychology 

An  Instrument  jgj^  j^j^^j  ^.j^jg  mechanism  of  intercom- 
McKtai  munication  is  additional  evidence  of 
the  control  and  direction  of  bodily  ac- 
tivities by  mental  energy. 

The  facts  to  follow  w^ill  not  only 
demonstrate  the  truth  of  these  proposi- 
tions, but  v^^ill  disclose  the  existence 
within  every  one  of  us  of  a  store  of 
mental  energies  and  activities  of  which 
*^    we  are  entirely  unconscious. 

The  brain  constitutes  the  organ  of 
central  governing  intelligence,  and  the 
nerves  are  the  physical  means  employed 
in  bodily  intercommunication. 

Brain  and  nerves  are  in  other  words 
the  physical  mechanism  employed  by 
I  the  mind  to  dominate  the  body. 

Single  nerve  fibers  are  fine,  thread- 
like cells.   They  are  so  small  as  to  be 


Psychology  and  Achievement      g  n 

invisible  to  the  naked  eye.  Some  of  Gateways  of 
them  are  so  minute  that  it  would  take  E^P^^ence 
twenty  thousand  of  them  laid  side  by 
side  to  measure  an  inch.  Every  nerve 
fiber  in  the  human  body  forms  one  of  a 
series  of  connecting  links  between  some 
central  nerve  cell  in  the  brain  or  spinal 
cord  on  the  one  hand  and  some  bodily 
tissue  on  the  other. 

All  nerves  originating  in  the  brain 
may  be  divided  into  two  classes  accord- 
ing as  they  carry  currents  to  the  brain 
or  from  it.  Those  carrying  currents  to 
the  brain  are  called  sensory  nerves,  or 
nerves  of  sensation ;  those  carrying  cur- 
rents from  the  brain  are  called  motor 
nerves,  or  nerves  of  motion. 

Among  the  sensory  nerves  are  the 
nerves  of   consciousness;   that   is,   the 


94  Applied  Psychology 

Couriers  o{  ncrvcs  wherebv  we  receive  sense  im- 

Action 

pressions  from  the  external  world. 
These  include  the  nerves  of  touch,  sight, 
pain,  hearing,  temperature,  taste  and 
smell.  Motor  nerves  are  those  that 
carry  messages  from  the  brain  and  spi- 
nal cord  on  the  one  hand  to  the  muscles 
on  the  other.  They  are  the  lines  along 
which  flash  all  orders  resulting  in  bod- 
ily movements. 

Another  broad  division  of  nerves  is 
into  two  great  nerve  systems.  There  are 
the  cerebrospinal  system  and  the  sym- 
pathetic system.  The  first,  the  cerebro- 
spinal system,  includes  all  the  nerves  of 
consciousness  and  of  voluntary  action; 
it  includes  all  nerves  running  between 
the  brain  and  spinal  cord  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  voluntary  muscles  on  the 


Psychology  and  Achievement      g  r 

other.  The  second,  the  sympathetic  Nerve 
nerve  system,  consists  of  all  the  nerves  ^^  '^^ 
of  the  unconscious  or  functional  life;  it 
therefore  includes  all  nerves  running 
between  the  brain  and  sympathetic  or 
involuntary  nerve  centers  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  involuntary  muscles  on 
the  other. 

Every  bodily  movement  or  function 
that  you  can  start  or  stop  at  w^ill,  even 
to  such  seemingly  unconscious  acts  as 
winking,  walking,  etc.,  is  controlled 
through  the  cerebro-spinal  system.  All 
other  functions  of  the  body,  including 
the  great  vital  processes,  such  as  heart 
pulsation  and  digestion,  are  performed 
unconsciously,  are  beyond  the  direct 
control  of  the  will,  and  are  governed 
through  the  sympathetic  nerve  system. 


g5  Applied  Psychology 

Organs  of     I*  ^s  obvious  that  the  cerebro-spinal 
Consciousness  nervc  svstem  is  the  organ  of  conscious- 

and  Sub-  ^  ^ 

consciousness  xit%%^  the  apparatus  through  which  the 
mind  exercises  its  conscious  and  volun- 
tary control  over  certain  functions  of 
the  body.  It  is  equally  obvious  that  the 
sympathetic  system  is  not  under  the  im- 
mediate control  of  consciousness,  is  not 
subject  to  the  will,  but  is  dominated  by 
mental  inflences  that  act  without,  or 
even  contrary  to,  our  conscious  will  and 
sometimes  without  our  knowledge. 

Yet  you  are  not  to  understand  that 
these  tw^o  great  nerve  systems  are  en- 
tirely distinct  in  their  operations.  On 
the  contrary,  they  are  in  many  respects 
closely  related. 

Thus,  the  heart  receives  nerves  from 
both  centers  of  government,  and  besides 


c  C^rvicdl  PIp.xus-^ 

c'  Middle  Cervical 

c"lnfpriorCprvical 
Ganglion  - 

Br  Drdchial  — ' 
Plexu? 


dl 

Dorsal 

Qn^lions 

DIZ 


L  Lumber 


Cr'Anterior 
Crurial  Nerve  _ 

9dcrdl 
Ncrvp— ^ 


6;-*-0  Cilijry  Ganglion 
-M  Sphcno-Palafine 
Gdn^lion 

PP  Pfiaryn^cpal 


Pulmonary  Plexus 
ca  Cardiac  Plexu? 

,  Corondry 


-O  Oesoplia^dl 
Pbxus 


»-so  Solar  Pbxu9 

•^-  ms  Mesenteric 

PIpxu? 
^-r(?  Renal  Plexu? 

— ao  Aortic  PIpxu? 

mi  Iffi^fiof 
Plexus- 

-hy  Hypogtr,c 

-tni  Ri^ht  PpIv'ic 
Plexu? 

*— V  Network  of 
Re^ctal  and 
Vesical  Pbxus'es 


Ganglion 


SEPARATE   NERVE  CENTEK.S,   J'I.EXLSES   AND  GANGLIA,  THE 
"little  brains''  'IK  THE  HUMAN  BODY 


consciousness 


Psychology  and  Achievement      qj 
all  this  is  itself  the  center  of  groups  of      Organs  of 

,,         rn,  -  1-1      '^  Consciousness 

nerve  cells.  The  power  by  which  it  ^^^  ^ub- 
beats  arises  from  a  ganglionic  center 
within  the  heart  itself,  so  that  the  heart 
will  continue  to  beat  apart  from  the 
body  if  it  be  supplied  with  fresh  blood. 
'But  the  rapidity  of  the  heart's  beating 
is  regulated  by  the  cerebro-spinal  and 
sympathetic  systems,  of  which  the  for- 
mer tends^  to  retard  the  beat  and  the 
latter  tends  to  accelerate  it. 

In  the  same  way,  your  lungs  are  gov- 
erned in  part  by  both  centers,  for  you 
can  breathe  slowly  or  rapidly  as  you 
will,  but  you  cannot,  by  any  power  of 
your  conscious  will,  stop  breathing  al- 
together. 

Your  interest  in  the  brain  and  nerve 
system  is  confined  to  such  facts  as  may 


g8  Applied  Psychology 

Organs  of       pTove  to  be  of  usc  to  you  in  your 
a^sub."^'''  Study  of  the  mind.   These  anatomical 
consciousness   divisions  interest  you  only  as  they  are 
identified  with  conscious  mental  action 
on  the  one  hand  and  unconscious  men- 
tal action  on  the  other. 

It  is,  therefore,  of  no  use  to  you  to 
consider  the  various  divisions  of  the 
sympathetic  nerve  system,  since  the 
sympathetic  nerve  system  in  its  entirety 
belongs  to  the  field  of  unconscious  men- 
tal action.  It  operates  without  our 
knowledge  and  without  our  will. 

The  cerebro-spinal  system  consists  of 
the  spinal  cord  and  the  brain.  The 
brain  in  turn  is  made  up  of  two  prin- 
cipal subdivisions.  First,  there  is  the 
greater  or  upper  brain,  called  the  cere- 
brum; secondly,  there  is  the  lower  or 


Psychology  and  Achievement      gg 
smaller  brain,  called  the  cerebellum.  Looking 

.^.  .  •  •  f     i  Inside  the 

The  cerebrum  m  turn  consists  of  three  ^^„j; 
parts:  the  convoluted  surface  brain, 
the  middle  brain  and  the  lower  brain. 
So  that  in  all  we  have  the  surface  brain, 
the  middle  brain,  the  lower  brain  and 
the  cerebellum.  All  these  parts  consist 
of  masses  of  brain  cells  with  connecting 
nerve  fibers. 

And  now,  as  to  the  functions  of  these 
various  parts.  Beginning  at  the  lowest 
one  and  moving  upward,  we  find  first 
that  the  spinal  cord  consists  of  through 
lines  of  nerves  running  between  the 
brain  and  the  rest  of  the  body.  At  the 
same  time  it  contains  within  itself  cer- 
tain nerve  centers  that  are  sufficient  for 
many  simple  bodily  movements.  These 
bodily  movements  are  such  as  are  in- 


lOO  Applied  Psychology 

Brmn  Par/jStinctive  OF  habitual  and  require  no 
and  Functions ^^^^^^^<^  act  of  the  wiU  for  their  per- 
formance. They  are  mere  "  reactions," 
without  conscious,  volitional  impulse. 

Moving  up  one  step  higher,  we  find 
that  the  cerebellum  is  the  organ  of 
equilibrium,  and  that  it  as  well  as  the 
spinal  cord  operates  independently  of 
the  conscious  will,  for  no  conscious  ef- 
fort of  the  will  is  required  to  make  one 
reel  from  dizziness. 

As  to  the  divisions  of  the  greater 
brain  or  cerebrum,  we  want  you  to  note 
that  the  lower  brain  serves  a  double 
purpose.  First,  it  is  the  channel 
through  which  pass  through  lines  of 
communication  to  and  from  the  upper 
brain  and  the  mid-brain  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  rest  of  the  body  on  the 


Psychology  and  Achievement      \o\ 
other.    Secondly,  it  is  itself  a  central  ^''''^'"  ^^'''•^ 

and  functions 

office  for  the  maintenance  of  certain 
vital  functions,  such  as  lung-breathing, 
heart-beating,  saliva-secreting,  swal- 
lowing, etc.,  all  involuntary  and  un- 
conscious in  the  sense  that  consciousness 
is  not  necessary  to  their  performance. 

The  next  higher  division,  or  mid- 
brain, is  a  large  region  from  which  the 
conscious  will  issues  its  edicts  regulat- 
ing all  voluntary  bodily  movements.  It 
is  also  the  seat  of  certain  special  senses, 
such  as  sight. 

Lastly,  the  surface  brain,  known  as 
the  cortex,  is  the  interpretative  and  re- 
flective center,  the  abode  of  memory, 
intellect  and  will. 

The  functions  of  these  various  parts 
are  well  illustrated  by  the  effects  of  al- 


1 02,  Applied  Psychology 

Drunketmess  cohol  upon  the  mind.  If  a  man  takes 
Efficiency  too  much  alcohol,  its  first  apparent  ef- 
fect will  be  to  paralyze  the  higher  or 
cortical  center.  This  leaves  the  mid- 
brain without  the  check-rein  of  a  re- 
flective intellect,  and  the  man  will  be 
senselessly  hilarious  or  quarrelsome, 
jolly  or  dejected,  pugnacious  or  tearful, 
and  would  be  ordinarily  described  as 
*'  drunk."  If  in  spite  of  this  he  keeps  on 
drinking,  the  mid-brain  soon  becomes 
deadened  and  ceases  to  respond,  and  the 
cerebellum,  the  organ  of  equilibrium, 
also  becomes  paralyzed.  All  voluntary 
bodily  activities  must  then  cease,  and  he 
rolls  under  the  table,  helpless  and 
**dead"  drunk,  or  in  language  that  is 
even  more  graphically  appreciative  of 
the    physiological    effects    of    alcohol, 


Psychology  and  Achievement      i  o  ^ 
"  paralyzed."  However,  the  deep-seat-  Drunkenness 

.  ..,,,.  T^T         and  Brain 

ed  sympathetic  system  is  still  alive.  JNo  Efficiency 
assault  has  yet  been  made  upon  the  vital 
organs  of  the  body;  the  heart  continues 
to  beat  and  the  lungs  to  breathe.  But 
suppose  that  some  playful  comrade 
pours  still  more  liquor  down  the  vic- 
tim's throat.  The  medulla,  or  lower 
brain,  then  becomes  paralyzed,  the 
vital  organs  cease  to  act  and  the  man  is 
no  longer  "dead"  drunk.  He  has  be- 
come a  sacrifice  to  Bacchus.  He  is 
literally  and  actually  dead. 

It  seems,  then,  that  the  surface  brain 
and  mid-brain  constitute  together  the 
organ  of  consciousness  and  will.  Con- 
sciousness and  will  disappear  with  the 
deadening  or  paralysis  of  these  two  or- 
gans. 


I OA  Applied  Psychology 

Secondap  Yet  thcsc  two  Organs  constitute  but  a 
small  proportion  of  the  entire  mass  of 
brain  and  nervous  tissue  of  the  body.  In 
addition  to  these,  there  are  not  only  the 
lower  brain  and  the  spinal  cord  and  the 
countless  ramifications  of  motor  and 
sensory  nerves  throughout  the  body,  but 
there  are  also  separate  nerve-centers  or 
iganglia  in  every  one  of  the  visceral  or- 
gans of  the  body.  These  ganglia  have 
the  power  to  maintain  movements  in 
their  respective  organs.  They  may  in 
fact  be  looked  upon  as  little  brains  de- 
veloping nerve  force  and  communicat- 
ing it  to  the  organs. 

All  these  automatic  parts  of  the 
bodily  mechanism  are  dominated  by 
departments  of  the  mind  entirely  dis- 
tinct from  ordinary  consciousness.    In 


Psychology  and  Achievement      IOC 

fact,    ordinary    consciousness    has    no  Dependence 
knowledge  of  their  existence  excepting  suhcorisdous 
what  is  learned  from  outward  bodily 
manifestations. 

All  these  different  organic  ganglia 
constitute  together  the  sympathetic 
nerve  system,  organ  of  that  part  of  the 
mind  which  directs  the  vital  operations 
of  the  body  in  apparent  independence 
of  the  intelligence  commonly  called 
*'  the  mind,"  an  intelligence  which  acts 
through  the  cerebro-spinal  system. 

Yet  this  independence  is  far  from  be- 
ing absolute.  For,  as  we  have  seen,  not 
only  is  the  cerebro-spinal  system,  which 
is  the  organ  of  consciousness,  the  abode 
of  all  the  special  senses,  such  as  sight, 
hearing,  etc.,  and  therefore  our  only 
source  of  information  of  the  external 


I O  6  Applied  Psychology 

Dependence  world,  but  many  organs  of  the  body  are 
^  ,     ''^'^^  under  the  joint  control  of  both  systems. 

Subconscious  ' 

So  it  comes  about  that  these  indi- 
vidual intelligences  governing  differ- 
ent organs  of  the  body,  with  their  inter- 
communications, are  dependent  upon 
consciousness  for  their  knowledge  of 
such  facts  of  the  outer  world  as  have  a 
bearing  on  their  individual  operations, 
'and  they  are  subject  to  the  influence  of 
consciousness  as  the  medium  that  inter- 
prets these  facts. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  go  into 
this  matter  deeply.  It  is  enough  if  you 
clearly  understand  that,  in  addition  to 
consciousness,  the  department  of  mind 
that  knows  and  directly  deals  with 
the  facts  of  the  outer  world,  there  is 
also  a  deep-seated  and  seemingly  un- 


Psychology  and  Achievement      io7 

conscious  department  of  mind  consist-     Unconsdous- 
ing  of  mdividual  organic  mtelligences    consciousness 
capable    of    receiving,    understanding 
and  acting  upon  such  information  as 
consciousness  transmits. 

We  have  spoken  of  conscious  and 
"seemingly  unconscious"  departments 
of  the  mind.  In  doing  so  we  have  used 
the  word  "seemingly"  advisedly.  Ob- 
viously we  have  no  right  to  apply  the 
term  "  unconscious  "  without  qualifica- 
tion to  an  intelligent  mentality  such  as 
we  have  described. 

"Unconscious"  simply  means  "not 
conscious."  In  its  common  accepta- 
tion, it  denotes,  in  fact,  an  absence  of 
all  mental  action.  It  is  in  no  sense  de- 
scriptive. It  is  merely  negative.  Death 
is  unconscious;  but  unconsciousness  is 


I O  8  Applied  Psychology 

Vnconscious-  ^o  attribute  of  a  mental  state  that  is  liv- 

ness  and  Sub- 
consciousness ing  and  impellent  and  constantly  mani- 
fests its  active  energy  and  power  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  vital  functions  of 
the  body. 

Hereafter,  then,  we  shall  continue  to 
use  the  term  consciousness  as  descrip- 
tive of  that  part  of  our  mentality  which 
constitutes  what  is  commonly  known  as 
the  "mind";  while  that  mental  force, 
which,  so  far  as  our  animal  life  is  con- 
cerned, operates  through  the  sympa- 
thetic nerve  system,  we  shall  hereafter 
describe  as  ''^jw^conscious." 

Let  us  summarize  our  study  of  man's 
physical  organism.  We  have  learned 
that  the  human  body  is  a  confederation 
of  various  groups  of  living  cells;  that 
in  the  earliest  stages  of  man's  evolution, 


Psychology  and  Achievement     loO 
these  cells  were  all  of  the  same  general  Synthesis  of 

the  Man- 
type  ;  that  as  such  they  were  free-living,  Machine 

free-thinking  and  intelligent  organisms 
as  certainly  as  were  those  unicellular 
organisms  which  had  not  become  mem- 
bers of  any  group  or  association;  that 
through  the  processes  of  evolution, 
heredity  and  adaptation,  there  has  come 
about  in  the  course  of  the  ages,  a  sub- 
division of  labor  among  the  cells  of  our 
bodies  and  a  consequent  differentiation 
in  kind  whereby  each  has  become  pe- 
culiarly fitted  for  the  performance  of 
its  allotted  functions ;  that,  nevertheless, 
these  cells  of  the  human  body  are  still 
free-living,  intelligent  organisms,  of 
which  each  is  endowed  with  the  in- 
herited, instinctive  knowledge  of  all 
that  is  essential  to  the  preservation  of 


1 1 0  Applied  Psychology 

Synthesis  of  its  own  life  and  the  perpetuation  of  its 
Machine  species  within  the  living  body;  that,  as 
a  part  of  the  specializing  economy  of 
the  body,  there  have  been  evolved  brain 
and  nerve  cells  performing  a  tv^ofold 
service — first,  constituting  the  organ  of 
a  central  governing  intelligence  v^^ith 
the  important  business  of  receiving, 
classifying,  and  recording  all  impres- 
sions or  messages  received  through  the 
senses  from  the  outer  world,  and,  sec- 
ond, communicating  to  the  other  cells 
of  the  body  such  part  of  the  informa- 
tion so  derived  as  may  be  appropriate 
to  the  functions  of  each;  that  finally,  as 
such  complex  and  confederated  indi- 
viduals, each  of  us  possesses  a  direct, 
self-conscious  knowledge  of  only  a 
small  part  of  his  entire  mental  equip- 


Psychology  and  Achievement 


III 


ment;  that  we  have  not  only  a  con-  Subserviency 

.    .  .  .  of  the  Body 

sctousness  receiving  sense  impressions 
and  issuing  motor  impulses  through  the 
cerebro-spinal  nervous  system,  but  that 
v^e  have  also  a  subconsciousness  mani- 
festing itself,  so  far  as  bodily  functions 
are  concerned,  in  the  activity  of  the 
vital  organs  through  the  sympathetic 
nerve  system;  that  this  subconscious- 
ness is  dependent  on  consciousness  for 
all  knowledge  of  the  external  world; 
that,  in  accordance  with  the  principles 
of  evolution,  man  as  a  whole  and  as  a 
collection  of  cell  organisms,  both  con- 
sciously and  unconsciously,  is  seeking 
to  adapt  himself  to  his  external  world, 
his  environment;  that  the  human  body, 
both  as  a  whole  and  as  an  aggregate  of 
cellular  intelligences,  is  therefore  sub- 


112  Applied  Psychology 

Subserviency  jcct  in  cvcry  part  and  in  every  function 

of  the  Body  ^^  ^^iq  influence  of  the  special  senses  and 

of  the  mind  of  consciousness. 


THE  SUPREMACY  OF 
CONSCIOUSNESS 


Chapter  VI 

THE  SUPREMACY  OF 
CONSCIOUSNESS 

CONCLUSIONS    DRAWN     FROM     STUDIES 

IN  HUMAN  PSYCHOLOGY,  ANATOMY 

AND  PHYSIOLOGY 

TOP 


a  moment  and  mark  the  striking  o§ 

the  Mental 

conclusion  to  which  you  have  shackles 


.  ^^  come.  You  have  been  examin- 
^^^  ing  the  human  body  with  the 
scalpel  and  the  miscroscope  of  the 
anatomist  and  physiologist.  In  doing 
so  and  by  watching  the  bodily  organs 
in  operation,  you  have  learned  that 
every  part  of  the  body,  even  to  those 
organs  commonly  known  as  involun- 


"5 


1 1 6  Applied  Psychology 

Striking  off  tary,  IS  ultimately  subject  to  the  influ- 

the  Mental  j       r  '  t 

Shackles  ^nce  or  control  of  consciousness,  that 
part  of  the  human  intelligence  which 
is  popularly  known  as  "  the  mind." 

Prior  to  this,  as  a  matter  of  direct  in- 
trospective knowledge,  we  had  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  influence  of  the 
mind  over  all  the  organs  of  the  body 
was  one  of  the  most  obvious  facts  of 
human  life. 

So,  our  study  of  the  body  as  the  in- 
strument of  the  mind  has  brought  us  to 
the  same  conclusion  as  did  our  study  of 
the  mind  in  its  relations  to  the  body. 

Looked  at  from  the  practical  science 
standpoint,  the  evidences  that  mental 
activity  can  and  does  produce  bodily 
effects  are  so  clear  and  numerous  as  to 
admit  of  no  dispute. 


Psychology  and  Achievement      1 1 7 
The  world  has  been  slow  to  acknowl-  •S''/''^»«^  o^ 

the  Mental 

edge  the  mastery  of  mind  over  body.      Shackles 

This  is  because  the  world  long  persisted 

in  looking  at  the  question  from  the 

point  of  view  of  the  philosopher  and 

religionist.  It  is  because  the  thought  of 

the  world  has  been  hampered  by  its 

own  definitions  of  terms. 

The  spiritualist  has  been  so  busy  in 
the  pursuit  of  originating  "first"  causes, 
and  the  materialist  has  so  emphasized 
the  dependence  of  mind  upon  physical 
conditions,  that  the  world  has  received 
with  skepticism  the  assertion  of  the  in- 
fluence of  mind  over  body,  and  in  fact 
doubted  the  intuitive  evidence  of  its 
own  consciousness. 

The  distinction  between  the  two 
points  of  view  has  gradually  come  to 


1 1 8  Applied  Psychology 

The  be  recognized.  Today  the  fact  that  the 

Awakening  of        ^     ^  ..  m  •  i    ^.-^^ 

Enlightenment  mind  may  act  as  a  "cause  m  relation- 
ship with  the  body  is  a  recognized 
principle  of  applied  science.  The 
world's  deepest  thinkers  accept  its 
truth.  And  the  interest  of  enlightened 
men  and  women  everywhere  is  directed 
toward  the  mind  as  an  agency  of  un- 
dreamed resource  for  the  cure  of  func- 
tional derangements  of  the  body  and 
for  the  attainment  of  the  highest  degree 
•    of  bodily  efficiency. 

In  some  respects  it  is  unfortunate 
that  you  should  have  been  compelled 
to  begin  these  studies  in  mental  effi- 
ciency and  self-expression  with  les- 
sons on  the  relationship  between  the 
mind  and  the  body.  There  is  the  danger 
that  you  may  jump  at  the  conclusion 


Psychology  and  Achievement 

that  this  course  has  some  reference  to  The  vital 
"  mental  healing."  Please  disabuse  your  ^"^^^^^ 
mind  of  any  such  mistaken  idea. 

Health  is  a  boon.  It  is  not  the  great- 
est boon.  Health  is  not  life.  Health  is 
but  a  means  to  life.  Life  is  service. 
Life  is  achievement.  Health  is  of  value 
in  so  far  as  it  contributes  to  achieve- 
ment. 

Our  study  of  the  relation  between 
mind  and  body  at  this  time  has  had  a 
deeper,  broader  and  more  vital  pur- 
pose. It  is  the  foundation  stone  of  an 
educational  structure  in  which  we  shall 
show  you  how  the  mind  may  be  brought 
by  scientific  measures  to  a  certainty 
and  effectiveness  of  operation  far 
greater  than  is  now  common  or  ordi- 
narily thought  possible. 


1 20  Applied  Psychology 

Your        Remember    the    two    fundamental 

Reservoir  of  .  .  /■       i    •       i  •    l       i 

Latent  Power    propositions  Set  forth  in  this  book. 

I.  All  human  achievement  comes 
about  through  some  form  of  bodily 
activity, 

II.  All  bodily  activity  is  caused,  con- 
trolled and  directed  by  the  mind. 

The  truth  of  these  propositions  must 
now  be  obvious  to  you.  You  must  re- 
alize that  the  mind  is  the  one  instru- 
ment by  which  it  is  possible  to  achieve 
anything  in  life.  Your  next  step  must 
be  to  learn  how  to  use  it. 

In  succeeding  volumes,  we  shall 
sound  the  depths  of  the  reservoir  of 
latent  mental  power.  We  shall  find  the 
means  of  tapping  its  resources.  And  so 
we  shall  come  to  give  you  the  master 


Psychology  and  Achievement      j  ^  I 

key  to  achievement  and  teach  you  how   Your 

to  use  it  with  confidence  and  with  the  f"^^^^'"  °f 
'  Latent  Power 

positive  assurance  of  success. 


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EDUCATION  AND  PSYCHOLOGY  LIBRARY 
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